The War of Tomorrow
by ilmiopassato
Summary: Sequel. Just back from fighting battles across the Outer Colony world of Khan, Lieutenant Colonel Natalie Cooper struggles to deal with her inner demons while pursuing a rank up at Earth's prestigious War College. She thinks she's left the fight for good now, but some of the enemies she's faced in the past are ready to return.
1. Intro: Not the Teacher's Pet

Author's Note: New story smell! Almost like new car smell, but better. ;)

First off, a big thanks to everybody who's followed me on this writing journey so far. It's because of your support that I find myself continuing these fics, and getting inspired to send my characters off on a new adventure each time around. And if you're new to the series, welcome! Hope you enjoy and stick around for the fun.

Before we begin, some customary disclaimers:

1) I DO NOT OWN Halo, the franchise/the books/the games/other media. I'm just writing a story based off this universe. And, like with the previous installments in the series, times/dates/settings may be slightly AU. If I diverge a bit from canon, it's intentional.

2) Also like its predecessors, this story is rated T but tends to toe the line with M for language, violence, blood, gore, and some suggestive/sexual content (not graphic). You have been warned.

3) While it is not strictly necessary to read the other Cooper stories to understand this one, it is **highly** recommended. The fics in this series have built off one another and you'll miss a lot of the character development/story progression if you choose to start here. If you're not sure what order the stories go in, I have them numbered in chronological order on my profile page.

And with that, I bring you story 6 of the Cooper series. Enjoy!

* * *

**Intro: Not the Teacher's Pet**

WARNING! TOP SECRET! EYES ONLY!

SCANNING IN PROGRESS…

…CLEARANCE GRANTED

/TO: Lieutenant Colonel Natalie M. Cooper, Commanding Officer 52nd Combat Regiment, 1st Marine Division, UNSC Marine Corps

FROM: Major General Nohavi Lotus, Vice Chair of Academics, Pensacola Advanced Warfare College, Pensacola, Florida, United States. North American Territory, UNSC Marine Corps

SUBJECT: FILE ENCRYPTED

MESSAGE:

Lieutenant Colonel Cooper,

I am writing you to inform you of your subpar performance in yesterday's peer review of your tactical analysis for the fictional OPERATION: BLITZKRIEG. As per College policy, I have scheduled to meet with you tomorrow, Wednesday 12 June, 2558, at 0845 hours to discuss this evaluation.

Just to remind you, my office is at 122 Lomund Court, room 33. Do not be late. Your future is riding on this.

Major General Nohavi Lotus, Vice Chair of Academics

/END MESSAGE/


	2. Chapter 1: A Serendipitous Meeting

**Chapter One: A Serendipitous Meeting**

** Five Years Earlier. 2256 Hours, February 9, 2553. ****UNSC Roosevelt Air Base, Skagen, Denmark. "The Outing," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

With our big Africa op just two days away, a night at the O-Club with my two best buddies was just what I needed to get my mind off all our troubles - and the impending do-or-die moment humanity was about to face. Our upcoming mission to Kenya would be our very last, the one that either ended the war with the Covies and Flood for good, or made it a moot point if Earth was lost.

Of course I had plenty to think about before then - and to prepare, and to wring my hands about. Little Gabriel was here with us too now, and having just gone through the painful miscarriage of my second child, I wanted to spend as much time with my two-and-a-half-year-old son as I could. But Willis had agreed to watch him on his own for tonight, my company of Marines and their supplies were all squared away, and so I was ready to let loose a bit and have some fun.

"So what're you going to do first when we get there, Lewis?" Captain Oliver Hayden, one of my two best friends, asked the other.

Beside me, First Lieutenant Dean Lewis grinned. "Celebrate the birth of my new son, of course."

"Of course! Well, Courtney and I've got three, so that means...three shots to start. Fair?" Oliver turned to me next. "Cooper here's got one so you'll get just one shot. Dean, buddy, I think you should get two though. A second one for your daughter."

I smiled. "So we're toasting to our kids first?"

"Sure, why not? Even though they're an enormous responsibility, we love the little gremlins a lot so they get first pick."

"I'm guessing that means spouses next?"

"Yeah. We love them, too."

"And next to the dead," Lewis added.

"I'll drink to that," I responded softly.

We'd made it to the corner where the O-Club was now, and we could already see the lights on from the outside - and hear all the noise coming from within.

"Come on," Hayden said, grinning. "Last round will be to bolster our resolve for the end of the world."

Once inside, we finally saw that the place was packed. That wasn't unusual just before deployment, but tonight, the atmosphere was different. There was more chaos and less restraint - in a way we all knew that if we made it back from Africa at all, it would be minus many of the people we'd known and had worked with for months or even years. I hated the thought of it, but I looked to my left at Dean and then to my right at Oliver. This might be our very last time alive together.

And we planned to make the most of it.

Captain Hayden sidled up to the bar first, pushing past other clustered groups of officers to order our drinks. "Six shots of the best you've got, for the three amigos," he said to the bartender. The woman nodded and set out two small glasses of a clear liquid for each of us.

Lieutenant Lewis raised an eyebrow at Oliver. "Aren't you supposed to have three for your boys? And one for Natalie for hers?"

Hayden shrugged as he downed his first shot in one quick swill. "I decided to spread around the cheer a little bit, in the interest of fairness."

"Hey, sounds good to me," I said, taking my first shot next. The liquid burned down my throat, but it felt good.

Finally, Lewis joined in with us, letting his first drink go down the hatch.

"To our families," Hayden said.

"To our families," Lewis and I echoed.

"And this next one," Oliver said as he raised his second glass, "will be for the brothers and sisters we've lost...and the many more we'll say goodbye to on this final campaign."

Out of respect, Lieutenant Lewis and I raised our glasses slowly and solemnly. The three of us gave each other a meaningful look in the eyes, as if to say, _If it's me, remember your good friend when I'm gone._ And then we downed our shots in unison.

* * *

Just a half-hour later I was feeling nice and buzzed, nearing the end of my first pint of beer. I signaled the bartender for another, then took my two drinks back to the poker game Hayden, Lewis, and I had decided to crash. Credits were strewn everywhere on the table, our haphazard version of a pot, and things had gotten relaxed enough that we sat in the group with the top buttons of our uniform jackets undone, even in the presence of two majors. Nobody really cared.

I checked out my hand one last time as the game circled back to me. It was just about my turn, but I couldn't help but let out a groan as I finished my beer and started in on the second. My hand was still shit.

Beside me, Hayden laughed.

"You know, Cooper, the whole point of poker is to have _control_ over your facial expressions. It's like you're on a stealth mission if you're trying to win. Don't want the enemy to know you're there waiting in the shadows to catch him from behind and shank 'im."

I shook my head, although it felt like the room moved a little with it. "Not my style. I say take the enemy head-on with everything you've got and take 'em by surprise that way."

As soon as the Marine officer on the other side of me, another captain, threw more credits into the pot, I laid my cards flat in front of me and folded.

"It's also a good strategy, however, to know when you've got nothing left to give," I said.

"Touché." Hayden played his hand and looked over to Lewis, next in the circle. "Well, buddy? Whatcha got?"

It was the final go-around of the game, and Lewis was the last player. His face was a stony façade; there was no getting through that mop of red hair and those blue eyes to reveal what he was thinking.

Finally, though, he grinned.

"Royal flush for you all," he said. "Read it and weep...and give me each of those _lovely_ large credit bills."

Several groans went through the table then, but our buddy Lewis was the legitimate winner. Sometimes it paid to have a best friend who was as good at cards as him. As soon as everyone was done protesting the win, Lewis took the wad of cash in his hands, stood a little unevenly, and raised his half-empty glass.

"Next round of brew on me!"

We all raised our glasses in return to that. I hurried to finish my second beer to make way for more, and one of the majors started doling out the cards for another game. Suddenly, though, the whole table went hush and we all abruptly stood.

"Colonel on deck!" someone shouted.

_Shit,_ I thought. Technically, by the simple act of unbuttoning our jackets to reveal our T-shirts underneath, we were all out of uniform. A couple of the young second lieutenants with us hurried to straighten themselves out; the rest of us didn't even bother. We knew if this full bird colonel was a real hardass and a stickler for the rules, we were all in for a reprimand anyway.

The colonel who'd just entered was a man in his mid-forties with salt-and-pepper hair. He had a medium build and stood tall at six-foot-three, an imposing figure to most of us. We all stood at attention in absolute silence as he walked around, almost as if he were inspecting the place. Maybe he was. I was ready to get the chewing out of my life when he finally addressed the bar patrons and grinned.

"A round for all the Marines we've got in here! Enjoy, everyone. The next two days won't be easy...and anything after that is not guaranteed. Drink up."

Cheers and whoops sounded throughout the crowd, and our table cheered even louder. Between Lewis and the colonel, we were getting our next two drinks free. Couldn't ask for much more than that.

"That guy," Hayden said then, "is a fucking hero."

"Yes, Oliver, we know," Lewis replied. "We're all going to get back very drunk tonight."

"No, I'm serious! You ever hear about the siege on Beijing a few weeks ago? That dude."

I almost spit out my beer. "Really? You're sure?"

"Dead on," Hayden affirmed. "He stopped a whole damn Covenant army in China to save the city. Pretty badass."

"Glad he's going in with us, then," I said.

"Yeah, me - oh, shit! Here he comes."

The full bird colonel had finally made his way to our table then after speaking to some of the other Marine officers in the O-Club, drink in hand. Without a word, a couple of the second lieutenants quickly made room for him and he sat down.

After taking a long swig of his beer, he said, all casual, "So. Let's start with some introductions. I'm Colonel Aiden Bolowsky. You, Lieutenant Red?"

We all looked over at Dean. He was the only one at the table with red hair. Hell, probably the only Marine in the whole bar.

"First Lieutenant Dean Lewis, sir. XO of Bravo Company, 102nd Battalion."

"Who's your CO?"

"Me, sir," I responded. "I'm Captain Natalie Cooper. And this is our buddy, Captain Oliver Hayden. He's in charge of Charlie Company in the same battalion, sir."

Colonel Bolowsky nodded with his beer. "Good to meet you, Marines. And the others?"

We went around the circle till the introductions were finished. After that the O-6 sat in on two games of cards with us - and went through two beers. I finally stopped halfway through my third, though more was offered. I didn't want to get completely plastered tonight when I was going back home to my son - even though Willis and I had already put him to bed long before I'd left.

It was close to 0300 hours when Hayden, Lewis, and I decided to call it quits and return to our respective quarters. Throughout the walk, Oliver talked mostly about the colonel we'd met.

"Man, that guy was cool. Everything a superior officer should be, plus he knows when to unwind. I like it." He paused for a moment, then added, "I hope I'm like that when I make full colonel."

Beside us, Dean snorted. "As long as you're fantasizing, you can wish for the Covenant to peacefully depart the planet as well."

"Yeah," I chimed in. "And the Flood. That way we can all sleep in tomorrow morning instead of having to get up in three hours for formation."

That elicited a collective groan from the three of us.

We walked along for several minutes in silence after that. We were almost to the barracks when Lewis spoke again.

"I know who might make it that far up the ranks." He turned and glanced at me with a smile. "Our very own Cooper here."

"Nah," I said. "Not in a million years. I'm still sometimes surprised I made captain already."

"Sure you can, Natalie," Hayden said then, serious for once in his life. "Out of all of us, you just might be the one to make it."


	3. Chapter 2: Checking In

**Chapter Two: Checking In**

******Present Day. 0630 Hours, June 12, 2558. Cooper-Hawk Residence, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Missed Connection," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

I woke up to the sound of the alarm blaring and snuggled closer to the warm body beside me out of reflex, eyes still closed. It took an extra second but then I felt Willis stir, too. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over to turn the alarm off before facing me again.

"Better get up, Coop," he said to me, his voice thick with sleep. "It's time for school."

I groaned into my pillow. "Me or the kids?"

"Both."

I peeked over at him with only one eye open. "You enjoy saying that, don't you?"

He smirked back at me. "Maybe a little. It's kinda funny at our age."

My husband pulled me in for a morning kiss then that somehow didn't stop at one. I kissed him back a second time, then a third when our four-year-old twins came running through the once-closed door and into the room.

"Eww!" Olivia shouted, making a disgusted face. "Mommy and Daddy are _kissing_!"

"Yeah? You better hope I don't catch you and give you kisses, too."

I got up out of bed and quickly wrangled my daughter into my grasp, then started planting little kisses all over her face. Olivia squirmed and giggled in delight. It was pretty clear by the time we'd gotten home about a month and a half ago that our kids had missed us as much as we'd missed them while we'd been gone on our mission to Khan. There I'd learned a lot of things about the true state of the universe, and about myself as well. Things I was still trying to come to terms with now.

But for the moment, those issues were the furthest thing from my mind. After a minute I let go of Olivia and went after Liam, my youngest son, next, and gave him the same treatment. We'd heard from Willis's parents that he'd had the most difficult time with our absence, and he seemed most excited to have us back. I kissed my little man on his cheeks and his forehead and his short brown hair, the same color as mine, then grabbed both twins and brought them over onto the bed with us so they could have some time with their dad. Willis gave them both a kiss on the top of their heads and a big squeeze. After that the twins finally settled down a bit and lay there for a while, sandwiched in between us, looking content.

"Hey," I asked them then. "Where's your big brother?"

"Still sleeping," Olivia responded. "We tried to go into his room but he was _snoring_."

Our oldest son, Gabriel, now eight, didn't really snore - but he was a heavy sleeper. Getting him up and ready in the morning was always a tough task. It was a good thing I'd built a career on those.

"Well, we'll have to go wake him up soon," Willis said. "It's almost time for your mom to leave for school."

Olivia and Liam giggled.

"That's silly," my son said. "Why does Mommy have to go to school?"

I glanced over at my husband and gave him a look. "See? Now you've got them saying it, too."

Willis just grinned. "Your mom has to go to school so she can get to the next level in the Marines. War College is really hard. You have to be one of the best to even go there."

Our daughter looked up at me. "Are you one of the best, Mommy?"

"We'll see," I replied. "There's a lot of really smart people there, and they're all a lot older and more experienced than me."

And then there was that message I'd gotten from the Vice Chair the other day. Definitely not something that made me feel like attending War College was the right thing to do. It was an honor to get selected, but sometimes I felt like I was drowning in the deep end. I had no idea what the instructors or my classmates had thought I'd done wrong in my analysis. I guess in a couple more hours, I'd find out.

"Come on, guys," I said to the twins. "Let's go get your brother up and we'll all get ready for school."

* * *

Given that this was my kids' last week of school before they were out for the summer, I took extra care in making sure they had everything they needed for the day. After that I scrambled into the shower, pulled on my uniform, scarfed down a quick breakfast, and downed my birth control pills and my PTSD meds with my coffee. Then I walked over to Willis as I rushed out the door to say goodbye.

"You sure you're all set?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I have to hurry now. I've got the meeting with the Vice Chair in about an hour."

"Good luck, Cooper. I'm sure you'll do fine. And don't worry, I promise I'll get the kids to school on time."

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later tonight."

After I leaned in to kiss him, Willis kissed me back and whispered, "You're a good leader, Natalie. Don't let them tell you otherwise. Just show them all you've done for your Marines over the years. And remember that one bad eval isn't going to make or break you."

I appreciated the sentiment, but I still found myself frowning. "That's not what it sounded like in the message. 'Your future is riding on this'? Sounds pretty ominous to me."

"Maybe he meant it in the general sense. Just go talk to him and see."

"All right. See you later, Will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

And with that I left the house.

* * *

The extra hour I had on my hands after getting myself and the kids ready this morning wasn't just time for me to kill. Before my meeting with the Vice Chair - and before I resumed my classes for the rest of the day, provided I wasn't kicked out of the College - I had to go check in on the regiment. During my six-month deployment to Khan, I'd not only received a promotion from major to lieutenant colonel after leading two battalions into battle against the Storm - one of them mine, the other my late best friend Oliver Hayden's - but I'd also become commander of the 52nd Combat Regiment later on in the campaign, when yet another battalion was added to my roster and we'd encountered a second, new enemy to fight.

The Prometheans were formidable foes, like the Storm, but were something like robotic AIs rather than aliens. I'd also found out that many of them were former humans, transformed into their current forms by an ancient race called the Forerunner when the Flood had been on the verge of taking over all life. I understood the desperation of fighting the parasite - I'd done so myself during the latter part of the War - but knowing the Prometheans had once been people was a disheartening idea for me. There was nothing about them anymore that suggested any sort of consciousness, or any sort of humanity. It was just lost, and to me, that sounded a lot like getting consumed by the Flood. The end result looked about the same.

Thankfully, though, we'd stopped the Prometheans from reaching Earth through a hidden portal on Khan. That was the good news. The bad news was that I'd had to order nearly forty of my Marines to their deaths when we'd blown the portal up, with only my younger brother Travis living to tell the tale. He'd been in bad shape when I'd found him amongst the rubble down on the beach, but now, almost three months later, he was physically all healed up. Mentally, the emotional scars of losing his entire demolition team were still something he struggled with - and something I tried to help him overcome when I could.

The decision had left its own mark on me, too. One that I still hadn't fully gotten over myself yet, either.

"Good morning, ma'am," my XO, Major Dani Brewer, said to me with a salute as I approached the grounds where my men and women were gathered. "Here for the morning inspection?"

I chuckled as I saluted back. "More or less. At ease, Major. What do we have on tap for today?"

"A smorgasbord of fun and games, Colonel," Brewer answered, grinning. "Just had the company commanders send their Marines out for some calisthenics and a nice long run, then they all hit the showers and the chow hall. The battalions are getting assembled again now for weapons training, and then we'll finish up with a live-fire exercise in the afternoon. Full day."

"Sounds good," I replied. I looked over at my XO and put my hand on her shoulder. "You're doing a great job, Dani. I'm sorry you've had to take on the brunt of the work lately, but you know I'm always here to help. If there's anything you come across that you can't tackle on your own, just let me know and I'll try to slip out of class a little early."

The major nodded. "I will, ma'am. We sure miss your presence out there in the field. But what you're doing is important, and it's not an opportunity to miss. A lot of officers spend a lifetime trying to get into this War College. I'll do what I can to make sure you're able to give it its due attention."

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Before I went over to speak to the other officers, I asked, "Feel good to be back?"

"Yes, ma'am. I get to be with my daughter every day when I get home, and that's about all I can ask for."

"Yeah," I said with a small smile. "I have to admit I like having a full house to go home to, too. You and Cal still doing okay?"

Brewer's expression suddenly changed to an uncomfortable one. "We're...at a weird place right now. I'm sure he'll talk to you about it when he's feeling up to it. I guess we're both just trying to digest right now and figure out what to do."

I had no idea what that meant, but I wasn't going to pry. Last I'd heard everything was smooth sailing in my XO's romance with the spook we'd been working with on Khan and my good friend, Navy Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd. I guess somewhere in between, things had started to go south. I spoke to Cal pretty often, though, so I was sure the situation would get cleared up soon.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then, Dani. I'm going to go talk to Majors Harris and Mullen, and then I'll check in on some of the other junior officers and enlisted Marines, too. After that, I've got a meeting with the Vice Chair and it's back to hitting the books."

"Right. Good luck, Colonel."

"Yeah. You, too, Major."


	4. Chapter 3: High-Priced Tutelage

**Chapter Three: High-Priced Tutelage**

After stopping by the base to make sure my regiment was squared away, my next stop was the hallowed grounds of Earth's Pensacola War College. I'd only started studying here a couple weeks ago at the beginning of June, as courses could be taken all year round thanks to the officers' varying deployment and training schedules. I'd liked the change of pace so far; I'd met some very intelligent and tactically sound Marines, older men and women with stories about the earlier years of the Human-Covenant War, and sometimes even before that. I'd been two years away from even being born when the Covies had first attacked Harvest, so it was amazing to me to get to speak to a few people who'd actually been there at the start.

The courses were fun for the most part, too. I'd always enjoyed learning, but I had to admit that the classroom training was less exciting to me than the practical, hands-on applications we were taught. My favorite activities so far were the field exercises, where the instructors did what they could to put everything we'd learned in our textbooks and lectures into practice in a training scenario. Those I was good at.

Unfortunately, what I was being called in for today was the latest classroom exam we'd taken, in which we'd had to write a detailed after-action report on how we'd gone about tackling the made-up OPERATION: BLITZKRIEG as field commanders. I didn't see anything wrong with what I'd written, but obviously my higher-ups and peers did. I was curious to find out what.

As I passed the two enlisted Marine guards at the gate, I showed them my ID and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Cooper. Student 056-A."

The senior MP, a gunnery sergeant, quickly nodded me through. "Go ahead, ma'am. We recognize you."

I walked past them then and onto the campus, for lack of a better word. Everywhere across the grounds, there were signs of the College's rich history - plaques in memory of important battles against the first generation of rebels, plaques commemorating the formation of the United Nations Space Command several centuries ago, and plaques depicting major battles humanity had fought against the Covenant. There were also a few statues erected here and there throughout the inside halls as well as the outside walkways, portraying likenesses of the school's most accomplished alumni.

Everything about the place had an air of importance and prestige. It made me feel lucky to be here.

Today, though, all I saw around me just made me feel inadequate. The fact that I had my meeting with the Vice Chair in just a few more minutes really hammered home the idea that maybe I didn't really belong here quite yet.

It was that sobering thought that followed me as I stepped into the building and exchanged pleasantries with the secretary there, a young first lieutenant who clearly would have liked any assignment other than keeping the major general's appointment book. The O-2 had a full head of auburn hair and dark brown eyes, and looked to be in his early twenties. If I were him, knowing there was fighting going on just outside the Inner Colonies that I wasn't a part of, I would've absolutely hated that job.

"Major General Lotus will be out in just a moment, ma'am," he said to me.

"No worries, Lieutenant," I replied. "I'm not exactly itching to go in there so he can take his time."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Not many are, ma'am. It's usually not a good thing to be seeing him."

"Right."

"Shit. I uh...I meant no offense, Colonel."

I waved off his embarrassment. "It's okay. I guess I'm the problem child of the week."

The lieutenant grinned wider this time, but quickly wiped any traces of amusement off his face when the office door swung open to reveal Major General Lotus himself. I stood up in an instant at rigid attention, staring straight ahead.

"Sir."

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," he said, without a hint of inflection in his voice. "At ease. Good to see you here at 0845 on the dot. That bodes well." The major general gestured to his door. "If you would."

I followed him through the threshold as his secretary stood and shut the door behind us. We sat on opposite sides of his desk and I waited to be reprimanded for...whatever it was I'd done.

The major general interlocked his fingers in front of him on the desk, then released a sigh. "You know what we're here to discuss this morning?"

"Yes, sir. My analysis of Operation Blitzkrieg."

"Correct." He pulled out his datapad from his breast pocket and frowned. "The synopsis of the operation states that you're in charge of four Marine battalions and are planning an assault on a large alien fortification that houses twice as many units. No room for vehicles. Most chose to go about that the right way - the prudent way. Send out a company to scout, get a read on their defenses and patrol routes, and try to wait in the treeline to take them down a few units at a time until you can overpower their forces. You, Colonel, chose something else."

"Yes, sir. I sent out a scout team, had them place charges around the structure without getting caught, and had them blow the place to hell. Then we take care of the stragglers. No casualties, and no waiting. Sir."

"The problem with that is you rely on too many things to go your way," he stated. "Who's to say your men won't get caught, and your presence discovered? Why use so few of your resources when you have many more at your disposal? What if the charges don't go off?"

"Sir, if I may, I view this a little differently. Why should I use everything I have when it's not necessary for the job? Why put more Marines in harm's way when it can be accomplished in half the time with many less lives at stake?" I shook my head. "I'll always put the mission first, sir - and if need be, throw each and every bullet, 'Hog, tank, and Marine at the enemy as I can. But not when I don't have to."

The major general digested that for a minute, then leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his forehead. "The truth is, Colonel, that the basic model for going about an operation like this is thoroughly explained in the textbook loaded on your datapad. Did you not read the section?"

I almost scoffed, but then remembered myself and swallowed it down. "I did, sir. But you and I both know 'textbook' maneuvers don't count for shit in the field, sir. I could spend all day detailing the perfect outcome of a mission on paper, and it won't guarantee me anything but a revision on the fly once the fighting starts."

"Colonel, that is not - "

"Look, I used this tactic on Khan just three months ago," I said then. "Not even. We had...some serious threats to deal with out there, and we could've spent ages tiptoeing around them and worrying about them, like the rebels chose to do, or face them head-on and do something about it. Something the enemy won't expect. And what the enemy wasn't expecting out there was that we'd just detonate what was too risky to try to maintain control over instead of slowly fight and die over it to keep it intact."

Major General Lotus looked me in the eyes. "You're talking about the portals you and your Marines found. The ones you subsequently ordered gone."

I tried to cover up my surprise but wasn't fast enough. "Yes, sir."

"I've read the report, Colonel. All of it. As Vice Chair of this College, there's not much my clearance level won't allow me to access. And it's good to know where your students are coming from. Both tactically and mentally."

"Sir?"

"It seems to me that the risks you take are too great, Cooper. You have good instincts, but you tend to rely on chance to attain your desired outcome, and don't spend enough time thinking through other possibilities. You may have had the recommendations of Rear Admiral Dartmouth and Captain Rhodes to attend here, and you've accomplished much at your age. All very impressive credentials. But you're still very young and new to your rank in comparison to your peers, and it shows. They wouldn't try even half of what you deem fine, or even correct. That worries me."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to stop me. "As the person in charge of determining whether you're made of the proper material to go out and command your Marines the _right_ way as a full colonel, I have to ensure that you're willing to learn."

"I am, sir. I just - "

"Then you cannot just dismiss what we teach you as ultimately insignificant in a real battle."

I frowned and said nothing. After a moment, Major General Lotus went on.

"I'll allow you to remain our student for now. But I want to see progress, Colonel, and more applications of what we're trying to teach you - not what you _think_ is better. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Then you're dismissed, Marine."

* * *

I spent most of the day after that quietly fuming to myself as I went through my classes, mandatory weapons training to keep our skills sharp, and later gym hour. We were supposed to go for long runs on our own in the mornings, something I did every day except for one out of the week - which had been this morning for me - but our time in the gym was meant for strength training and conditioning. I worked out hard doing sit-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups before heading to the treadmill since I'd skipped my morning run. I was planning on running off all my frustrations at the close-minded faculty here, but a voice broke into my thoughts after I'd been on a few minutes.

"Ma'am?" one of the other students, a major by the gold oak leaf insignia stenciled onto the front of his PT shirt, said to me. "Are you Lieutenant Colonel Cooper?"

Instead of answering, I pointed to the front of my own T-shirt, which clearly had a silver oak leaf and the name "COOPER" stenciled across it. The major turned red.

"Oh, right. Sorry, ma'am. You are. I'm Major Justin Delaney. I think I'm going to be your XO for the field exercise tomorrow."

"You think or you know, Major?"

"I know, ma'am. I looked at the roster."

"Good. Then we'll talk tomorrow. I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"I can see that, ma'am," he pressed. "But I just wanted to say I liked the way you handled Blitzkrieg. Very bold, and unique. Not the way most of the officers here would think to do it."

"Really? The brass sure didn't seem too impressed."

"Yes, ma'am. I can see how you earned yourself a battlefield promotion. I never did, so I'm here trying to make your pay grade."

I snorted. "The pay's nice, but you might change your mind once you actually have to do the job. It's not as glamorous as it looks." I stuck out my hand while continuing to run. "But good luck. Delaney, huh? Nice to meet you."

He took my hand with a smile and shook it. "You, too, Colonel. I look forward to the exercise tomorrow."

* * *

Later in the evening, once classes were all done for the day, I returned to my regimental office on base. I wanted to check up on what the 52nd had been up to while I'd been gone. I was happy to see that most of the training had gone well. Few Marines were still out on medicals, and there'd been no accidents from the live-fire practice. At least I had some good news to end the day with.

I was reaching over to power down the holoscreen when I heard a knock on the door.

"Enter," I said.

"Ma'am," my new aide, Staff Sergeant Derek Lynch, promoted since our escapades on Khan, said. "Lieutenant Lloyd is here to see you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're still here, Staff?"

"Yes, ma'am. Major Brewer said you'd be coming in after your classes."

I smiled a little to myself as my aide stood with his hands clasped behind his back. We'd only been paired up for a few months, but it seemed my XO already knew me pretty damn well. She'd known I'd come in to make sure my Marines were squared away before going home, regardless of the fact that I trusted her to do a good job in my absence. Ultimately the 52nd Regiment was still my responsibility, and that wasn't something I was going to skimp out on. "She did, huh? Well, she was right. Go ahead and send Lloyd in."

"Right away, Colonel."

It'd been a while since I'd seen the spook last. He was always off on some mission or another, and had spent nearly a week getting debriefed in Sydney when we'd finally gotten back to Earth in late April. I wondered if that might've been where his problems with Brewer arose - though his missions were usually short, they were classified to most and made for a hectic schedule.

The thought was fleeting, though. Mostly I had my former aide, Staff Sergeant Joshua Porter, enter my mind every time I saw Lynch walk in instead of him. I'd worked with the loyal Porter for several years before he'd gotten killed in the fighting on Khan - just as the battle was about to get wrapped up. The staff sergeant had jumped on an enemy grenade for me, and saved my life. I'd always known I'd do anything for my Marines, but to have my aide do that for me...that was something else I carried with me all the time. I knew I was here because of him.

I didn't have much time to keep ruminating after that. Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd walked in, shut the door behind himself, and stood at attention.

"Ma'am, Lieutenant - "

I waved my hand at him to stop. "Come on in, Cal, and have a seat. You don't need to do that with me."

"Yes, ma'am."

As he took his place in the chair opposite my desk, I pulled out an old bottle of brandy from underneath the table. It was the one the rebel leader/town mayor on Khan had given me just before we'd left. Very good stuff, and already more than halfway gone.

"I haven't seen you in a few weeks," I said. "I thought we could both use a drink to celebrate your return."

His smile was only reaction rather than a genuine feeling. "Sure. Although I won't be staying long."

"How come?"

"Dani...uh, Major Brewer..." He scratched at his head. "I'm not sure if she's told you yet, but we're sort of on the rocks."

Once I finished pouring a few fingers of the amber liquid into two glasses - one for him, and one for me - I took a sip and glanced over at him. "She mentioned something about it to me this morning, but didn't go into detail. What happened?"

The ONI operative took a fortifying gulp and answered quickly, "I asked her to marry me."

I almost choked on my drink. "Wow. That was fast."

"I know. Maybe too fast. She said no."

"Shit, Cal. I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, me, too." He released a sigh. "Maybe it's soon, but I love her, Colonel. And now that I've met her daughter since we've gotten back, I've found I really like the kid. I know I can be a good father to her."

"Do you guys get along well?"

"I think so. Alexis seems to like me, too. But now I feel like I'm losing the family I wanted, and I don't - I don't get why Dani's doing this."

I took another drink from my cup and swirled the remainder around, placing the edge of the tumbler on the desk. "Well, obviously the only one who can answer that question is Brewer herself. As a mother myself, though, I know I'd want to dot all my i's and cross all my t's when it came to letting someone get close to my kids. She may just want you to take more time to bond with her daughter first, make sure you guys really connect."

"Yeah, but...she hasn't really spoken to me much since she turned me down. I want to give her her space if she needs time to figure things out, but I also don't want to be wasting our time if she knows it's not going to work."

Finishing the last of the brandy in my glass, I let out a sigh myself and looked him in the eyes. "My advice? Now that you're here, go talk to her. I'm thinking it's probably not unusual for things to cool down for a while when someone pops the question and doesn't get the response they were hoping for. But I can't answer this stuff for you, or for her. Go see her."

Lloyd sat there a moment longer, taking in what I'd said. After a minute he downed the rest of his drink, too, and nodded. "Okay. You're right, ma'am. Dani's the only one who can say for sure what's going on. Thanks."

He stood and turned to leave then, but I stopped him.

"Hey, Cal?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You're a good guy. As long as you don't do anything stupid to screw it up, I think you guys should be able to work this out. Good luck."

"Thank you."

As soon as he'd left, I reached beneath my desk again and poured myself a second hearty glass of the imported brandy from Roost. Today had been a really weird day.


	5. Chapter 4: Getting There

**Chapter Four: Getting There**

**1142 Hours, June 13, 2558. Pensacola War College Training Grounds, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Scenario," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

As I stood on the hillside about a quarter of a klick from the army of Marines moving into the valley below, dressed in full gear with a battle rifle slung behind my back, I watched their progress through my field binoculars, wishing I could be down there with them. These weren't men and women from my actual unit, the 52nd Regiment, though, but only holographic representations of four battalions of Marines - complete with three M808 Scorpion Main Battle Tanks slowly moving up their flanks for extra firepower.

Yet although there were no people on this battlefield, I still knew that someday soon, if all went right, they would be - and that I'd be the one leading them. So I treated this like any other op I did in real life and pretended we were playing for keeps.

"Marines are on the move, ma'am," Major Justin Delaney said beside me. "We're getting close to the objective now. They should hit hostile territory in another two hundred meters."

"Okay. I got that. Let's see what the instructors throw at us."

Delaney scratched at the side of his head, where his short brown curls peeked out from beneath his helmet. "Probably won't be pretty if you went and saw the Vice Chair yesterday. They'll want to really test your skills today, Colonel."

I released a small sigh as I let my binoculars drop and hang from the strap around my neck. "Don't I know it, Major. But we'll be ready for them."

Having to stay this far out of the fight made me anxious, even if it was just holograms. It felt wrong to me, and very different from how I'd approached almost any other encounter in the past. I'd always been part of the chaos, if not at the very front; now I was going to have to learn to take an even bigger step back than I had when I'd made lieutenant colonel. It made me a little restless.

_Come on,_ I thought to myself. _I know this isn't going to be smooth sailing all the way in, so let's see what you've got cooked up for me._

I didn't have to wait much longer to find out what was in store for us. Suddenly there was an explosion at the head of the column, causing the lead Scorpion MBT hologram to dissipate from the scene below. I wondered for just a split second what the hell it might've been, but then it came to me.

"Mines!" I shouted into the radio, used to direct the projected troops in the valley - just like in real life. "Everyone halt, now!"

The large convoy did so, albeit slowly. It was tough to instantly stop that many men and vehicles at the same time. I was starting to see that that was why I was having the importance of caution drilled into me. A squad or platoon or oftentimes, even a company could respond to an order right away; when it came to commanding upwards of two thousand troops, though, it took a moment for the motions to catch up.

Moments in which an unwitting platoon leader could march his Marines straight into a minefield much like this one. I watched via my HUD this time as the computer informed me that another two fireteams of Marines had gotten the order too late and had gone up alongside the tank.

"_Fuck_," I muttered. This was a bad way to start.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," the voice of one of my instructors, Colonel Luke Gragnon, came through the COM. "Never let a setback discourage you. Fix the situation. You should have seen the problem earlier but you did not, and you have many more men and women counting on you to get them through here alive. Stay sharp."

"Yes, sir." I took in a deep breath and said, "Marines, fall back fifty meters. I want snipers forward and scouting ahead for the enemy while we move."

Beside me, the major nudged my shoulder. "Ma'am? You're ordering a retreat?"

"No. Just watch, Delaney. I'm giving us a better vantage point."

"But - "

It wasn't long before the first _crack_ of a sniper rifle rang out in the valley. That meant the enemy was already out there and active; we just couldn't see them yet from here. I didn't wait to give out my next command.

"MBT-One, move up, center. Fire at the ground when ready."

"Colonel," Delaney said as he watched. "What - "

His voice was drowned out by the resounding detonation then, the commotion reaching us even up here thanks to the amplification from the hills on either side of the valley. It took a while for the smoke to clear, but when it did, the visual on my helmet of the minefield now that we'd discovered it was over half gone.

"MBT-One, fire again! Marines, push up right behind it! Let's go! Snipers, keep your eyes on your targets and continue to engage!"

Luckily, the attack in tandem worked just as planned. I sent the Marines rushing in behind the tank, so right after it blasted away the other half of the minefield, my men were already moving forward behind it through the debris, surprising the enemy when they emerged from the cloud. At the same time, snipers were striking down any other holographic enemy entities they could spot, reducing the size of their contingent even more. Once my Marines made it through the treacherous field and further up, firefights began to erupt across the valley floor.

"That was phase one, Marine," Colonel Gragnon said to me then. "Phase two is the real battle - and I want you and Delaney down there with them. Better move quick."

Though I was surprised at the order, I tried not to let it show in my voice. "Yes, sir. We're on it." Turning to my XO for the exercise, I said, "Delaney, we need to get down there. Let's gather up the security detail and hike over."

"Yes, ma'am."

Like the rest of the training scenario, our security detail for this was made up of holograms as well. I noticed they moved with steps that looked a little more predetermined than organic forms, but they did the trick. We moved into the valley within several minutes, joining a crazed frenzy of simulated tank fire, gunfire, and explosions. Despite all this, though, I thought I had this in the bag when we got another curveball thrown at us.

"Colonel, watch out!" Major Delaney yelled next to me. "Rockets!"

I barely even heard the words when I was suddenly blown on my ass, sending my field binoculars flying and making me land awkwardly on my rifle, still strapped to my back. I grunted at the impact, feeling it as if it were all real - an incentive for Marines from the enlisted private all the way up to a four-star general to take these training sims seriously.

Right now I hated that.

A moment later I opened my eyes again and found myself staring into Delaney's hazel ones, not that different in color and pattern from my husband's.

"Here, ma'am," he said, offering me his hand to help me up. "We need to move. MBT-Two almost just got destroyed, and I think they've zeroed in on our position. They're going after you."

"Great," I coughed out in reply. I took his hand and was soon back on my feet, if a little achy from the hit. I winced a little and adjusted myself before taking my battle rifle in hand. "Did you see where they came from? The guys with the rockets?"

"Not precisely, but I know it was somewhere further ahead, up in the hills. I think our snipers got most of them, but obviously there's still a few left in play."

"All right. I'll send out an order to tag 'em now. Thanks for the hand."

"No problem, ma'am."

With that I set back to work, issuing the command to re-prioritize our snipers' shots to look for figures with heavy weapons. As soon as one of the sharpshooters spotted them, their silhouettes lit up in red just above the valley, and I gave the order to open fire.

In a few more minutes, the figures ceased to exist. I stood there gripping my rifle tight after the surprise attack, exchanging a look with Delaney. Then I keyed the COM and said, "Great work! Now let's keep the column moving. Don't quit keeping your eyes peeled for trouble. There's always more ahead."

Expecting to continue the scenario through to its end, I was caught off-guard when the surroundings - all the Marines, tanks, equipment, and even the enemy and the hills - melted away to show the vast, unassuming gray room the major and I were really in. Out of reflex, I glanced up to the viewing booth on the level above us, trying to somehow determine how I'd done before the colonel in charge of the training sim spoke.

"Fine job, Cooper," he finally said. "You took a bad start and managed to turn it around quite well, even with all the surprises thrown at you. I'd say you've earned your right to stay."

I only barely managed to stop the small creeping grin from spreading across my face. "So I passed, sir?"

"Yes. You passed."

* * *

I thanked Major Delaney for his help in the simulation and went on to chow and then my next classes after that. The day seemed to go by faster than usual, perhaps because I was actually feeling really good about being here for the first time since I'd started my coursework. At thirty-one, I was one of the youngest students at my rank to attend here, and because of that, I'd known going in that I had a lot to prove, despite my record in the field. It was an unfortunate fact none of my peers or instructors ever seemed to let me forget.

By its nature being here had come with a seed of doubt as to my qualifications, especially when I looked at everyone around me that I was competing with for the rank of O-6. Yesterday's reprimand for my test result had only made it worse. But today, I finally felt like this was something I could succeed at.

Still, at the end of the day I was tired, and still a little sore from the hit in the sim, too. I ignored it though and went over to the regimental office like always, just to check in. Only once that was done did I finally take off from base for good to go home.

After having only recently returned from multiple battles on Khan, I was still excited and awed by the fact that I got to go back to my own house at night, sleep in my own bed beside Willis, and get to spend time with my kids. Back in Redwood Falls and on Qamar Island, I'd only dreamed about luxuries like that. Now, at the close of a hard day, I had much to look forward to. It was the best part about being back on Earth.

When I stepped through the front door after unlocking it, I was greeted by a scene of almost strange calm - certainly different than the chaos I'd experienced in the simulation today, and definitely not the kind of quiet we normally had with three young children running around. I almost wanted to check and see if someone had swapped us families while I was gone.

I walked over to the living room, where Willis was sitting down on the carpet with the twins playing a game, and cocked my head to the side. "Honey? Are you sure this is our house?"

Willis turned around to look up at me and grinned. "Yup. Welcome back."

He stood then and came over to give me a deep kiss, which I returned. Behind us, I heard Liam and Olivia make grossed out noises.

"All right, all right," I said after my husband and I had pulled apart. "I know you guys want to come give me a hug, so come'ere."

I stooped a bit and wrapped my arms around both twins, our little presents after the War was over. Willis and I had wanted a second child for a while at that point, and had temporarily gotten our wish - albeit unexpectedly - after circumstances had brought us together to fight the Flood in Austria. I was only three months into my pregnancy when I lost the baby, though, and that was a harsh blow that took us both a long time to heal from. For me, it was still something I carried with me every day, just beneath the surface. But after the big battles in Africa, after humanity had finally won the war, we went back to our base in Denmark and had decided to try again. Four months later I'd found out we were expecting again - this time, with two. My family meant everything to me, and I vowed to never let anything happen to any of my kids again.

Liam and Olivia both hugged me back hard, then went and settled beside their dad once more to continue their game. Since I had a lot of work to catch up on, I decided to leave them to it and went to look for our oldest son before I sat down to study.

I found Gabriel sitting at the table in the kitchen, working on a project of his own. He had his back to me and it seemed he hadn't heard the door chime when I'd entered, so I surprised him by taking hold of his ears from behind and giving him a kiss on the top of his short, golden brown hair - just like Willis's. He immediately turned around and flashed me a big smile.

"Hi, Mom. You're home!"

"Hi, sweetheart. I am now. What're you working on?"

"Math homework. Mr. Lee gave us a lot today."

I looked over his shoulder at the page he was writing on, glad to see it was mostly done. "Why the blanks at the beginning?"

My oldest son frowned. "I couldn't figure it out. It's too hard."

"Want some help?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"I mean, yes, please."

"Okay. Just give me a minute. I'm going to change and get some food first, then I'll come do homework with you. Keep working on the rest in the meantime." I turned to go, then whipped back around and pulled my cover off and placed it on his head. "Oh, I almost forgot. You get to be the colonel in charge while I'm gone, okay?"

He smiled again from under the brim and pushed the camouflage hat up to look at me with his green eyes - the ones he'd gotten from me. "Okay, Mommy."

"Good. I'll be right back."

* * *

After changing out of my uniform and into a light gray UNSC-MC T-shirt and a pair of navy blue sweats, I walked back over to the kitchen to grab some leftover food from the fridge for dinner, then took my plate and my datapad to the table and sat down beside my son. I wolfed down the cold meal while reading through more of the textbook we used in class, still thinking the unheated food tasted better than hot MREs or dull energy bars any day. That was another thing I'd missed in the field. Edible food, and the comfort of a warm bed and a hot shower.

After a moment I noticed Gabriel peering over at what I was reading. He put his fist under his chin and threw me a questioning look.

"You have homework, too, Mom?"

"Yep. Sadly. That's the nature of the beast when you go back to school. Even mine."

"Why did you go back?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his expression, like he thought anyone who would voluntarily return was demented. I pulled him closer and ruffled his hair. I'd really missed him. "I have to, baby. It's the only way to get to the next rank. Otherwise I'd stay the one I am forever."

"But you never had to go to school before."

"No, I didn't, but things are different now. I'm getting closer and closer to the top, so there's a lot more work involved." Not that the other ranks had been easy to get - far from it - but they hadn't required any academic component beyond my initial graduation from the Naval Academy eleven years ago. It was crazy to think it'd already been that long since I'd last been in school.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, honey?"

Gabriel's demeanor changed abruptly as his face went serious. "Are you and Dad going to leave again?"

For a minute I didn't know how to respond. I couldn't tell him no; the truth was, I didn't know if or when we'd be getting sent off on our next mission. What I did know was that for the moment, my own orders were simply to attend the College. And seeing as my regiment had just come back from a tour - though brief - it was likely we wouldn't be called upon to leave for a while.

I released a sigh. "Someday we might have to, Gabe. It's part of the job. But for now, while I'm in school, probably not. I'm supposed to be at the College for close to a year, so that means I'll be home with you guys for a long time."

My son seemed to take that news in with cautious contentment, until he thought of his next inquiry. "What about Dad? He said he can't fly anymore."

"I don't know, son. To be honest, I'm not too sure about your dad. We'll just have to see."

Willis had been the victim of a horrific friendly-fire crash in his Pelican while we'd been fighting the Prometheans and Storm on the island on Khan. For a long time I thought he was going to die, and afterward the recovery process had taken a while. When he'd finally emerged from a coma and started to heal up, things still weren't quite right. The doctors there had said he'd likely never pilot an aircraft again, news that had hit my husband very hard. We'd both hoped that with more time and rehabilitation that the situation might change, but so far, it hadn't. The doctors he'd visited on base here once we'd gotten back had told him the same thing. For now he busied himself at home with the kids, or at his physical therapy appointments, or even doing deskwork on base a few hours a day while Gabe and the twins were in school. But I knew at some point a decision had to be made, and I feared that that was coming up real soon.

To stave off more questions and reassure our son of our presence, I pulled Gabe in for a hug and said, "Whatever happens, you know that we love you, and your brother and your sister, more than anything else in the world. And we're slated to be here for a while. But if ever that changes, try not to be too sad, and remember to be strong for Liam and Liv, like you were this last time we left. We'll always do everything we can to get back to the three of you. I promise."


	6. Chapter 5: Complications

Author's Note: Sorry about the short chapter this time. I wanted it to be longer but it didn't seem to fit the rest of what I wanted to write, and I thought it worked better as a standalone. So, without further ado, the saga continues...

* * *

**Chapter Five: Complications**

******0345 Hours, June 18, 2558. Cooper-Hawk Residence, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Silent Scars," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

Five nights later I had a familiar memory haunt my dreams. I hadn't revisited it in a long time, thanks to the meds I took for the nightmares; I hadn't even dreamt about it when I'd had to go without for several weeks after my supply had gotten all used up on Khan. But I remembered it now, and it was just as chilling and gut-wrenching as it had been the day I'd seen it.

The setting this time was six years ago on Sigma Octanus IV, during the Covenant invasion. In the dream I suddenly found myself walking around an eerily quiet and empty plaza with a fountain in the center, broken and blackened and spraying water sporadically - just like it had in real life after the Covies had launched their surprise attack. Unlike that day, however, in this dream, I was all alone. There was no sign of my Marines of first platoon, and no indication that the rest of Bravo Company was on its way behind me. I was it.

The sun wasn't quite over the horizon yet, so it was dark and the sky still had a purplish haze to it. I gripped my shotgun tighter in my hands, glancing down at my already-scuffed boots and the single silver bar insignia of a first lieutenant on my uniform, and slowly pressed forward.

Gradually the scene began to populate with even more awful forms. As I approached the once-empty city square, I could now see the rows upon rows of mangled civilian bodies that littered the streets - victims of the Covenant air support runs. We hadn't gotten there in time to save them. No one could've known that the aliens were coming here.

"Fat chance of saving those guys," a voice behind me suddenly said.

I nearly jumped in my skin and whipped around, doing a double-take. It was Oliver Hayden, wearing his major's insignia and dressed in the same fatigues he'd had on the day he'd died in the forest fight against the Storm on Khan. His presence was completely at odds with the rest of the dream; I hadn't even known him back then.

Hayden, however, went on unperturbed, pointing a finger at one of the dead. "See that guy? Plasma shot right through the gut? Totally gone."

"I know," I replied softly. "We were too late."

"Too late for me, too. And for Lewis." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but a lot of people have died on your watch."

Tears stung at my eyes then, but I held them in check. "I can still list all of them. Private Beesner, Captain Kingston, Lieutenant Graham, Captain Schaeffer, Corporal Garian, Lieutenant Samson, Sergeant Dandh, Private Roys. Hell, even that damn Elite 'Kuatee. Then there's Dean, and you, and my baby. My older sister and my parents. And now Staff Sergeant Porter and all those Marines I sent to die on the island." I swallowed hard. "So many fucking lives, Oliver. Why? Why am I a magnet for this shit?"

My late best friend shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes that's just the hand you're dealt. And you knew going into this that joining the Marines wasn't going to be easy. It always comes with hardships, Natalie. You'll always see death."

I frowned as I stared vacantly out at the slaughter around me. "But this much? How many more do I have to bear losing?"

"Wish I knew, Cooper." He gave me a small smirk. "Unfortunately I can't tell the future. I'm just dead."

"Yeah, but - "

When I turned to face him again, I saw that Hayden had vanished. There was no sign at all that he'd ever been there. Just like that, I was on my own once more. And there was still a long, lonely stretch of blown-out street I had to go through.

I steadied myself and held my weapon out, ready to fire at whatever I might encounter out here in the dream. But there weren't any physically threatening foes that I could see. Just what was already in my head.

The endless stretch of corpses continued - like a replay of all the people I'd known we'd failed that day. But in real life, I remembered there still being some alive, walking around in a daze at the carnage. Here, there weren't any. I almost wanted to start running, as if it would help me emerge from this nightmare, but then I came to an abrupt halt.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw it, and I could feel my chest tighten to an uncomfortable degree. Suddenly my stomach turned and I retched, throwing up in the street unlike what had happened in the real city. There, I'd dropped to my knees, particularly struck by it because of my own young son at home. Here, for some reason, it felt even worse.

It was the little brown-haired boy from the bus stop in Cote D'Azur, lying with his blue eyes wide open even in death, his short hair matted with blood and a hole going straight through his chest. He looked to be about four or five years old - and the fearful look on his face was something I'd never forget.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no, no. Please, not my son."

As soon as I said it, I wondered why I'd blurted it out. This kid looked nothing like either of mine. The image was related and struck a chord deep inside me, but he wasn't -

"Liam!"

Somehow and inexplicably, the boy's hair had gone from a dark brown to a medium hue, and his eyes had morphed from blue to hazel, like his dad's. Now it really was my son lying there. My youngest.

I let out a scream.

* * *

I woke up so abruptly and forcefully that I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second, even though air was making its way into my lungs at a rapid pace. It took me the better part of two minutes to begin to calm down and realize where I was. Home. In a bed. Next to Willis...who for once hadn't woken up to my nightmare panic. I slowly took in a deep breath and let it out, trying to tell myself that everything was fine.

Except it wasn't. I'd just dreamed of my child's death. Fully awake now, I got up out of bed and carefully pulled on some sweats over my underwear, already wearing my pajama top, and tiptoed out of the room.

The darkness of the house in the middle of the night did little to assuage my fears from the dream. It all still felt pretty threatening to me, and for a moment I wished I had my pistol on me. We didn't keep any firearms in the house though, for obvious reasons, and so I was left feeling more vulnerable and afraid than I normally was. A part of me knew it was irrational, but after a nightmare like that, I couldn't seem to help it.

I didn't breathe a real sigh of relief until I'd made my way to the twins' bedroom and opened the door a crack, just enough to see their small forms lying peacefully in their beds. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and both were sleeping soundly. Just for my own peace of mind, I walked down the hall a bit and checked in on Gabe next. Nothing wrong there, either.

Outside his room, I pressed my back to the wall and shut my eyes tight, slowly sliding down the wall until I was sitting on the ground with my knees up to my chest. I felt my heart clench and the tears came next, silent ones that I couldn't really rationalize away. I didn't know if I was crying because of the dream itself, or because of its reminders of the people I'd lost, or because I was genuinely relieved after the intensity of the nightmare that my kids were okay. It could've been for any of those reasons, or even for all three.

One thing was for sure though. I knew now that the medicine I was taking for the nightmares wasn't helping to block them out anymore.


	7. Chapter 6: Trying to Cope

**Chapter Six: Trying to Cope**

"Natalie, wake up."

I was slow to register that the voice that roused me to semi-conscious belonged to Willis. I felt him trying to nudge me awake by prodding my shoulder, with minimal success. When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself blinking against one of the cushions on the sofa in the living room. The surroundings were still dark and my head hurt. Groggily I put a hand up to my eyes to rub them, wondering how I'd gotten where I was.

"Will?"

His face filled my field of vision. He was crouched beside my head, looking only marginally more alert than I was. "Yeah. I woke up a little while ago and you weren't there, so I came to see where you'd gone. What are you doing out here?"

"That's...a good question. What time is it?"

"Just after oh-five-thirty." My husband released a sigh. "It wouldn't have anything to do with this, would it?"

I squinted in the dark and saw him pick up two objects from the coffee table behind him. One was an empty tumbler, recently used, and the other was a bottle of liquor; I couldn't tell what in the lack of light. I pressed a hand to my temple and groaned.

"Shit. I'm sorry." I must've fallen asleep without putting the stuff away. I was suddenly grateful that Willis had come to wake me up. The last thing I wanted was for my kids to see it. "I meant to put it back."

Willis looked at me for a moment longer before standing and bringing the glass over to the sink and placing the bottle back in one of the high cabinets in the kitchen. Then he ambled back to where I was lying on the couch, one arm over my face. I felt like pure crap.

"How much did you drink, Coop?"

"I don't know. Not a lot. Maybe a glass or two with a few fingers in it. I'm fine."

He took that information in without any sign of acknowledgment. For a minute he just stood above me with his arms folded across his chest, looking pensive, then finally dropped his hands to his sides and took a seat on the floor next to the couch. He ran a hand over his face and sighed again.

"Will, I said I'm sorry," I offered, putting my own arm behind my head now to look at him. "It won't happen again."

"All right. I'll hold you to that."

"I know. And you should. Things just...got a bit out of hand."

"What happened?"

I swallowed, finally remembering what all this was about now that I was more awake. "I had a nightmare," I said quietly. "They've started to come back."

His golden brown eyebrows went up. "How? I thought you were taking your meds again."

"I am. That's the part that worries me."

Neither of us said anything for a moment. I waited for that to sink in while Willis tried to process. Then I felt him reach over and take hold of my other hand, draped over my stomach.

"Fuck, Cooper."

"Yeah. I know."

"What did you dream about?"

I'd known the question was coming, but what I'd seen in the dream was so awful I didn't want to retell it. Yet I forced myself to, for his sake. "I was back on Sigma Octanus Four during the Covenant invasion. Hayden was there, too, briefly. Everyone else was gone. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but then again dreams rarely do." This time I was the one to sigh. "I dreamed about the dead little boy I'd found there near the fountain in the square. It felt like he was staring right at me with his dead eyes, and I..." I took a deep breath. "I looked away and when I turned back, it was Liam."

I felt the tears start to form again as soon as Willis took me in his arms. It was a little awkward because of the angle, but no less comforting to me. Finally I wasn't all alone out here, in the dark with nothing but my thoughts and memories running rampant.

"Christ, Natalie," he said softly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I couldn't even - "

"I can't, either."

I heard him swallow. "I know how it felt when we lost the baby, and I never want to feel that again." He pulled back a bit to look me in the eyes. "But nothing's going to happen, okay? Remember back on Khan, when you had that nightmare about your brother? He came out just fine."

I snorted. "Well, he got trapped under a bunch of rubble and had more than a few broken bones when we pulled him out, but yeah."

"What I meant is, he didn't die. You found him in time, and he survived," my husband added. "So don't take too much stock in a dream. I know it can freak you out when you first wake up from it, but remember that it's not reality. It's just your subconscious trying to deal with everything you've gone through."

"Yeah. And we've been through a lot."

"We have, but I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Willis surprised me a little then by leaning down to kiss me. The first one was soft and tender, leaving me wanting more. I kissed him back harder, grateful for his calming presence, and hoped for something to develop. But after our lips touched a third time, he drew back again.

"What is it?" I asked him. "What's wrong?"

He suddenly grinned at me. "Listen."

In the quiet I was finally able to hear what he had - the soft patter of little feet on the carpeted floor of the hallway. A second later Liam emerged at the door to the living room and kitchen area, looking drowsy.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

"Hey, buddy," Willis said, waving his hand. "Come on over. What're you doing up so early?"

"I dunno. I just woke up."

Our youngest son shuffled forward then and went into his father's waiting arms. Little Liam clung to Willis's plain white T-shirt in the dark as he looked me over with a slight frown on his face.

"Mommy, are you sick?"

I reached out to run my hand through his short hair to reassure him. "No, baby. I'm okay. I just had a little trouble sleeping."

"Why?"

I exchanged a glance with my husband, hoping he'd supply a suitable answer.

"Your mom gets bad dreams sometimes that keep her awake," Willis replied. "Like you've had a couple times before."

"Oh, yeah. I get those sometimes, too. They're scary."

"Yup. So when something scares you that bad, it can be hard to go back to sleep right away." Willis glanced at me as he continued. "But like I told your mom earlier, you have to remember that they're just dreams."

Liam let go of his dad then and threw his arms around my neck instead, resting his small head on my chest. "Don't worry, Mommy. I'll protect you."

I smiled to myself as I put my hand on his back and ran it up and down. "I know you would, son. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Sadly I'd found that that wasn't enough to keep the nightmares at bay. Soon, I'd have to figure out what else I could do about them now that they'd returned.

* * *

The rest of the morning I was grateful for all I had to occupy myself with so I wouldn't have to think about my predicament - or the disturbing contents of my nightmare. Gabriel and the twins were out of school for the summer now, so there wasn't as crazy of a rush with them in the morning, but I still had my usual things to get in order before I started my classes.

My morning run was the worst of it; the last thing I wanted was more time to myself to think, although the strenuous activity did me good. I felt a little more levelheaded by the time I'd showered, changed, and sat down for my first course of the day - an instruction on liaising with the local population. That made me snort. I'd already learned more than enough about that from the sometimes cooperative - but mostly homicidal - Mayor Javier Laraza on Khan.

Just when I felt like the day couldn't drag enough, we were sent to the firing range in the afternoon instead of gym hour. There I was once again paired up with Major Justin Delaney, who acted as my spotter while I shot off rounds from an M395 DMR, lying prone in the dirt.

"Nice shot, Colonel," he said after I hit my fifth consecutive burst on target. "I wish my hand was that steady. I've always had a little trouble with the burst-fire mode. I prefer single shots."

"Yeah? I've found a quick burst keeps you this side of dead more often that not in a firefight," I responded, not taking my eyes off the objective. "Can't say I'd be here to tell you the same thing about a single shot. Sometimes there just isn't any time for perfect alignment, so you've got to go with throwing as much at the enemy at once as you can and hope something sticks."

"Roger that, ma'am."

I squeezed the trigger again, placing three more bullet holes on top of the others I'd been firing into the target's head since the start. To say I had a lot of tension to release today was an understatement. "To be honest, I'm surprised I'm hitting anything at all. I got about four hours of sleep last night. Not much more than what we get in the field."

"Kids keep you up?"

Frowning, I shifted my angle a bit before pulling the trigger. "No. How do you know I have kids?"

"I read your file, Colonel. The public parts, anyway. I thought we could commiserate."

I chuckled, feeling the steel of the gun against my cheek just beneath my ballistic glasses. "Lucky for me I've already gotten past the hourly feeding, diaper-changing, and terrible twos phases with all my kids. Sounds like you've got a newborn in the house."

"We've got two of them, actually, ma'am. My wife and I were blessed with twin girls about a month and a half ago," the curly-haired major answered. "Our first ones. It's been pretty amazing so far, but also...intense. And very exhausting."

"No kidding. New twins _and_ you're here at the War College? You treading water yet, Major?"

Delaney laughed. "A little. I know you and your husband had a set of twins a few years back too, so I was hoping you could give me some advice."

"My advice?" I asked him, firing off a final round on target before picking myself up from the ground and ejecting the rest of the magazine from the rifle. I looked Delaney in the eyes and said, "Enjoy it while you can, Major. Every moment of it. They grow up too fast and in this business, you'll be gone half the time anyway. You'll cherish each minute you got to spend together when you're gone from home, and I guarantee that by the end, you'll be aching to come back to them."


	8. Chapter 7: Tough Standards

**Chapter Seven: Tough Standards**

**2014 Hours, June 20, 2558. Pensacola War College Training Grounds, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Games," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

Crouching in the dark in the pouring rain, battle rifle in hand and held at the ready, was just as miserable as I remembered it being. The occasional thunder strikes that lit up the night sky every so often certainly didn't help matters any. I was cold and soaked and shivering, weighed down by my wet fatigues and armor, but a part of it felt like home.

"Enemy spotted, Colonel," Major Delaney said from a few feet away, also keeping low amongst the foliage. "I've picked up their heat signatures. Coming up on our right flank just ahead."

I keyed my COM with slick fingers and whispered low, "Acknowledged. Stay put for now. We'll see if they take the bait."

"Roger that."

We waited patiently for the next few minutes to catch the holographic enemy in our trap. Before they'd been deployed onto the field, my instructors had given me ten minutes to configure a line of defense for my men. What I'd opted for was the darkness of the night and thickness of the vegetation to keep us hidden, while the remainder of the regiment, also made up of holographic forms, encircled the enemy as they made their way deeper into our lines. We were effectively boxing them in without them knowing it, and soon, they'd discover their mistake.

"Package on the way, ma'am," Delaney murmured over the COM. "Should be hitting the first snare in three, two, one..."

A sudden explosion burst through the trees, sending sparks of light and fragments of dirt and plant parts into the sky. I watched through my helmet's HUD as four holograms - patterned to look like Storm troops - vanished from sight.

"That's four," I replied. "Move up on the left and we'll take the rest while they're dazed."

"On it."

Shock and awe worked best in situations like these where the terrain was your home turf, and the enemy had no viable line of sight to go by other than electronics. Still trying to keep knowledge of our presence to a minimum, Major Delaney and I approached what was left of the patrol from opposite sides, engaging fast and hard. Coming up on the right, I quickly slung my rifle behind my back and took my combat knife in hand, then sunk it deep into the posterior of the first Grunt I found - which none-too-intelligently had its back to me. It tried to give out a little squeal but I held it back, driving the blade deeper and harder into flesh that wasn't really there. After that, just to make certain, I slit a hole in its methane tank, ensuring the small alien's demise. Only a couple of seconds later its body dropped to the ground, disappearing into millions of pixels.

"Next two. Go."

We tackled the remaining pair of aliens together - one a Jackal, one an Elite. Still disoriented and injured from the blast, the Jackal went down fast with three point-blank shots from Delaney's silenced pistol. Meanwhile, I threw caution to the wind for once, tired of waiting around for something to happen, and jumped onto the Elite's back from among the greenery.

The first swing of my knife connected, spurting imaginary purple blood from a neck wound that only seemed to be real. The Elite cried out in pain and rage, then quickly tried to throw me off while I attempted to climb up higher on its back. The thing was slender but tall as hell, and I knew from personal experience that if I didn't end his life pretty fast, he'd end mine instead. If he was able to get a solid grip on me I was toast; all it took was one good squeeze of my throat or ribs and I was a goner.

"Delaney! I could use some help!" I yelled out over the radio.

Struggling against the Elite's might, I wrapped my free hand around its shoulder, but the rain made it hard to hold onto. I felt myself start to slip as I tried to go for another stab, and the holographic form took notice. He gave a big shake of his back and roared, almost throwing me off, but I tightened my grip and held on.

What finally did it was the Elite backhanding me from behind. After that I lost it and plummeted toward the grass.

I hit the dirt with a harsh groan and laid there for a moment, seeing stars. Even catching just a partial amount of the force behind the slap had my ears ringing and made my jaw feel like it'd been fractured. Maybe in real life it would have been. Either way, it hurt like crazy.

"Colonel!" I heard the major shout.

I wanted to tell him I was fine, but I couldn't find the words just yet. I'd had the wind knocked out of me, too. With effort, I rolled over onto my stomach, imploring my lungs to open back up, but they wouldn't. All I felt was the impact of the rain on my already-drenched body and my muscles screaming in pain from the fall and the hit. But no breath.

Finally, when I was reaching the point that my vision was going dark around the edges, the oxygen came back. I took in a greedy lungful, coughed out the irritation, and then pushed myself back onto my feet. I shoved my combat knife into its sheath above my left boot, then pulled out my battle rifle from behind my back and let it rip.

Between myself and Delaney, the wounded Elite didn't stand a chance. We'd both fought a number of them before and knew their weak points well, and were aware of exactly what it would take to bring one down when we were so outnumbered. After a final burst from my BR85HB SR to the head the alien fell, departing the imaginary battlefield for good. And leaving nothing but the rain for now.

The major and I stood there a moment, each catching our breath. For me, I was trying to overcome the overwhelming pain I felt in my face, and the aftermath of the hit that was still making me a little dizzy. I wanted to puke.

"That was a close one, ma'am," Delaney said to me after a minute.

I almost nodded out of reflex, but thought better of it. "Yeah. But what's life without a little risk? We got 'im."

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper," came Colonel Gragnon's voice over the COM then. "What is your status? Your vitals are showing distress."

"All green, sir," I responded roughly. "Just had a run-in that got a bit more involved than I'd planned."

"Be mindful of that, Cooper. In the field the enemy will stop at nothing - and the injuries you fight with will be real."

"Yes, sir. I think my collection of Purple Hearts makes me an authority on that."

I unconsciously put a hand to my torso armor, just above my heart. While deployed on Khan I'd had to endure a number of attempts on my life by the local rebels, and one had finally damn near done me in. I'd gone into cardiac arrest and was technically dead for five minutes after getting shot twice by a hired Jackal sniper before I finally came back around and woke up three days later in a hospital bed. One of the armor-piercing bullets had gone through my left shoulder, while the other had gone straight into my back and out my chest. I'd been lucky my heart was only grazed and not hit directly or I would've definitely died - for good - that day at Outpost Columbia.

"Maybe so, but here you will discover what all your experience is really worth," the colonel continued. "And that is true for all of our students who are vying for the next pay grade. Proceed."

"Yes, sir."

I took in a deep breath then to steady my heart rate and think. What Major Delaney and I had just taken out was only the forward scouting patrol. Soon, we'd have the whole enemy force on our asses if we didn't move now and bring in the big guns.

Pulling my boots out of the wet muck I'd fallen into only minutes earlier, I keyed the COM again and this time addressed the troops under my care. "Marines, start tightening up the flanks. The enemy has infiltrated our lines as planned, so now we close in and crush them. Press the target and let's move."

In the meantime, now that the head column was dealt with, Delaney and I moved more cautiously through the foliage to retreat from the direct line of fire and move back into friendly territory before the main assault. In order to keep issuing commands, we both needed to stay alive. And I knew that what we'd just done was more of a risk than I should've allowed us to take at our rank.

But sometimes, when you wanted a job done right, I'd found it was best to play a direct hand yourself.

* * *

When I finally got home that evening, it was well past 2100 hours. By the time the war game was over, and my performance and Delaney's evaluated, it'd already been late. Factor in the shower and change of clothes I'd had to do afterward - since the setting for the game this time had been real and outdoors, even if the enemy and our allies hadn't been - and I came home an exhausted mess late at night. I didn't even bother stopping by my regimental office afterward, something I usually did religiously.

Much to my dismay the kids were already asleep and in bed, so I didn't even get to see them, other than to check in on them in their rooms when I first walked in. After that I made my way back into the living room and practically collapsed onto the couch, pulling off my wet boots from the rainstorm that continued to rage outside, then shrugged out of my uniform jacket and took off my cover. I sat for another minute with my head resting against the back of the sofa and my eyes closed until I felt Willis sink down beside me. Without a word he leaned over and kissed me, and I kissed him back.

"Rough day?" he asked.

"Hardest one yet, I think," I answered tiredly. "I almost got my jaw broken and knocked out, and the elements didn't help much. The war game was held outside this time. Probably out of spite."

My husband chuckled. "I kind of doubt that, Coop. They're just testing you. Part of that is always pushing your limits."

"I know. I just wish at some point I wouldn't have to keep proving to everyone that I know what I can do."

"Well, you've got ten months to show your stuff, honey. After that, in less than a year, if all goes well you'll make full colonel. And that'll be worth all of it."

I couldn't help the small smile that came to my face, tired as I was. "Yeah. It will." My stomach grumbled loudly then, and I laid my hand over it. "But first, I really need some chow."

Willis nodded and stood. "There's leftovers from dinner in the fridge. I can heat it up for you."

"Okay. Thanks."

I winced as I stood once more and walked over to the counter in the kitchen, where I sat on a stool and waited for the food to cook. It smelled delicious and made my mouth water. I hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime, nearly ten hours ago now. And you couldn't complain about a hot meal that wasn't in the shape of a bar or out of a premixed box.

When the plate of chicken, rice, and broccoli was placed in front of me, I didn't even both not trying to inhale it. In short order everything Willis had warmed up for me was gone. I washed it down with a large glass of water, then got up to grab myself a hunk of bread and some cheese before returning to my seat.

Willis watched me with a smirk on his face. "Damn, Coop. I haven't seen you eat that much since we were in training at the Academy."

"Hey, I was starving," I said around a mouthful of bread. "We burn through a lot of fuel these days. Running and classes in the morning, exercises and games in the afternoon and sometimes at night...makes a girl hungry."

A little while later I was finally stuffed. I put the dishes in the sink and sat back down on the stool next to Willis, then rested my head against his shoulder as my eyelids drooped. It'd been a long day and now that I'd eaten, all I wanted to do was sleep for twelve hours - even though I knew I couldn't. The next day I'd be back at it by 0630 again, just like always.


	9. Chapter 8: Mixed Signals

Author's Note: So I'm once again playing fast and loose with canon a bit to fit my story, while at the same time trying my best to stay as close to it as possible. :P My characters will continue to have the events of Halo 4 and the Spartan Ops series shape their world, at least to a certain extent, and now I'm working under the premise that forces have remained embattled on Requiem all this time - as they were while my peeps were on Khan - but no one has made a move for Earth yet.

We'll see pretty soon where this leaves Cooper and company.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Mixed Signals**

The fact that I woke up the next morning without suffering from the endless loop of memories in my head during the night was a minor miracle. Willis waking up before the alarm, around the same time I did, was pretty nice as well. I soon found, however, that the best was yet to come when my husband got up out of bed and went to lock the bedroom door - just in case - and returned to my side with a new purpose. Shortly after that, we were well on our way to blissful forgetfulness of all our problems while the kids were still asleep.

Afterward we lay side-by-side, both still breathing heavy and sweaty from the exertion, but feeling a lot more relaxed, despite the promise of another long day ahead. The sheets were in an upheaval and mostly off the bed, while the clothes we'd worn to sleep littered the floor - but that was fine by me.

A moment later Willis moved in closer, wrapping his arm around my side and leaning his head down to kiss my neck. "How was that?" he whispered in my ear.

I heard the mischievous grin in his voice and found myself smirking, too. "Amazing," I replied, turning my head to take his face in my hands and give him a deep kiss. "Can't think of a better way to start the day."

"Good," he said, kissing me back. "You were amazing, too."

We lounged in bed for several more minutes, kissing leisurely as if there were nothing else in the outside world to attend to. Soon, though, I found myself checking the clock, and we finally had to break apart before it got too late.

"Will," I tried to say as his lips met mine again. "We need to get up. Gabe and the twins'll be awake soon, and I need to shower and get ready."

"I know. It's just nice to pretend we're not on a full schedule sometimes." He rolled over and off the bed, then leaned down to pick up his boxers from the ground before turning back to me with a grin. "But look on the bright side, Coop. Now you don't have to feel bad that you missed your morning run. You still got a good workout."

I snorted before grabbing my own shirt from the floor and smacked him playfully with it. "Now you're going to have me thinking about this all day and I won't be able to concentrate. If I fail my classes, I'm blaming you."

Willis just continued to grin. "That's the best kind of distraction to have."

I finally got up myself then and searched around for my underclothes and some shorts I could put on before going down the hall to take a shower. "What's on tap for you today? Besides taking the kids to camp."

To keep the kids from going stir crazy now that they were out of school, Gabriel had opted to attend a day-long summer soccer camp with a few of his friends from class, while Liam and Olivia were enrolled in something similar with their preschool peers, for half the day. It took some shuttling but it gave Willis some free hours to work in the mornings when he needed to be on base to attend to squadron matters or do physical therapy, and it gave our sons and daughter some fun activities to do out of the house.

Willis let out a sigh as he finished dressing. "Back in the office again this morning. Major Collins said she had some paperwork for me to go through for the air wing. After that I've got a PT meeting right before I need to go get Liam and Liv. I'm supposed to be getting my progress report today."

I stopped and walked over to him. "Are you nervous?"

"Of course I am. My career's on the line with this one, Cooper. If I haven't made anymore progress by now..." He shrugged sadly. "I don't know if I can stay a pilot."

I reached up to stroke his cheek. I knew what that meant to him. "I'm sure it'll be fine, honey. I hope it's good news."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"Gabe was asking about you the other day, too," I said, momentarily snaking my arms around his waist and resting my head against his chest, as much to comfort him as me. "We're all pulling for you, Will."

* * *

All of the pleasantness of this morning had been drained away by a day full of intense courses and an afternoon laden with weapons training and strategy puzzles. We weren't given a full field exercise or war game to perform, but instead were divided up into small groups and each had to take a turn being the leader for a scenario given to us by our instructors, which our peers then evaluated us on. Once again I received points for originality and instincts, but lesser marks on taking a well-balanced approach. I was still looked at by many as a sort of black sheep around here, a young and overly aggressive LTC who hadn't quite grasped the rigors and complexities of the larger, tougher jobs yet. But after leading my regiment on Khan, and making it through my first three weeks of schooling at the War College now, I knew I could see it through. Even if I was a little unorthodox.

For once we were thankfully released early, in part to make up for staying so much later the night before, and with that I was given ample time to return to regiment headquarters to take care of some things for the 52nd. I was planning on spending at least a couple of hours at the office before going home to spend time with my kids - something I'd also missed out on yesterday - when I walked in and saw my XO and the spook talking.

I looked at them both, finding it interesting that they'd chosen to speak to each other in the middle of the hallway. "Am I interrupting something?"

Both quickly came to attention in front of me and saluted. "No, ma'am," they said in unison.

A small smile tugged at my lips as I saluted back. "At ease. So is this personal or business?"

The Marine and the Naval officer exchanged a quick glance.

"Business, Colonel," Major Brewer answered. "Lieutenant Lloyd was just telling me about a message he received from HighCom earlier today."

"Yeah? What'd it say?"

Lloyd glanced around, giving me the impression that he may have mentioned something about a message in passing, but definitely hadn't discussed the details with my XO yet...indicating that most of their conversation just now had been personal. "I'd like us to take this into your office, ma'am, if you would. I've only just been granted clearance to include Major Brewer on this, and it's something you need to know as well. But for everyone else, it's still highly classified."

I gestured up ahead with my arm. "All right. Lead the way, Lieutenant."

Once the pair had filed in, I stepped inside myself and shut the door behind us.

"Have a seat," I said, motioning to the two chairs in front of my desk while I moved to the single one on the other side. "Both of you."

They did as they were told. As soon as they'd situated themselves, I folded my arms across my chest and leaned back.

"Go ahead, Cal. Let's hear it."

The ONI operative cleared his throat. "Yes, ma'am. Well, like the major said, I got a message from Sydney this morning. And they wanted me to relay the info to the two of you. It's about Requiem."

I nodded without a word, while I could tell my second-in-command was drawing a blank. She looked over at Lloyd with a puzzled expression.

"Requiem? Is that a planet?"

"Sort of, ma'am," he answered. "It's...a long story. I was only cleared to brief Lieutenant Colonel Cooper on it towards the end of our mission on Khan. But now that it's become a bigger threat, and there's fears that the conflict might spread, the brass has decided to tell both of you. You'll find the details in the data packet I sent you."

Interest piqued, I sat up a little straighter now. "Why the two of us, Lieutenant? Why now?"

Lloyd paused to take in a breath. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Colonel, especially given the fact that we've all just arrived back home safely to our families. But it looks like High Command is considering recruiting the 52nd Regiment for the fight on Requiem. If they approve the sending of additional troops as reinforcements or even replacements over there, we're their first pick."

"Shit."

I hadn't meant to say it out loud. It was unprofessional of me to voice my opinion on a potential mission in front of subordinates - more so since it was negative. But this was Cal and Brewer. I figured a small lapse was okay with them. Hell, I'd gone drinking with the spook on more than one occasion, and through his ONI credentials he had access to more personal information of mine than my own mother had when she was alive. I mentally shrugged it off.

"Is there a special reason we hit the crap jackpot?" Major Brewer asked, echoing my sentiment.

"Yes, ma'am. Our mission to Khan." Caleb looked to me now. "The brass were impressed with how you handled things groundside, Colonel. They're equally interested in bringing a commander in who actually has experience fighting the Prometheans - and not only that, but fighting them simultaneously with the Storm."

I snorted. "Well, I guess it can't be any worse than Redwood Falls and Qamar. At least we won't have to worry about a third enemy popping us in the back while we're busy dealing with the robots and aliens. This might just be a fair fight this time around."

"Maybe. Both factions have a strong presence there. Much larger numbers than what we encountered in the Outer Colonies."

"Right. And just out of curiosity, how would we get there, _if_ we were to get the call? I thought Requiem was some kind of shield world. I'm assuming it doesn't have a basic front door like normal planets do, and we blew up the portal to it we found on Khan."

The spook nodded. "That's true, ma'am. But we know for a fact that's not the only artifact out there like that. Right now we're looking into the possibility of finding another portal that can lead us directly into Requiem. It would make the trip a whole lot faster." He scratched at his smooth jaw. "Besides, traveling all the way out to Khan to get us to the place would have been an enormous waste of time and resources. It would've taken too long."

"Wait," Brewer said, injecting herself back into the conversation by holding up a hand. "I understand Colonel Cooper has received a brief on this already. I haven't. What the hell is a 'shield world'? And portals? Like the ones we found on Khan? What were they connected to?"

This time I was the one to exchange a glance with Cal. "Lloyd, I think you've got your work cut out for you. Give Brewer the rundown and then be sure to keep me in the loop about this. If we're supposed to be moving out soon, I'd like to know so I can prepare the troops. And myself." _And my family, who just got me back,_ I thought solemnly. I'd promised my oldest son I was here to stay, at least for a good long while. I'd hate it if I had to go back on that. And having to leave my three kids again so soon...it was more than I could bear to think about right now.

Lieutenant Lloyd nodded. "Of course, ma'am. You'll be the first to know."

"Great. So what are they planning to do about my spot at the College? Is that forfeit if I leave? Or is it even something they mentioned?"

"They're aware of your current attendance there, Colonel. My understanding is that you can ask to suspend your coursework until you return. If it's for a last-minute deployment, they're usually very lenient about that."

"All right. Thanks." I looked to both of them then. "You're dismissed."

Once they filed out, I was left with the beginnings of a headache that would likely only grow as the afternoon wore on. This news was terrible, on all fronts. The fact that the situation on Requiem was getting so out of hand they were considering bringing in another regiment to help, the fact that I'd only just gotten home to see my family for the first time in half a year and already had to leave again, and the fact that I was currently a fucking mess with meds that didn't work right and an ever-growing penchant for fermented liquid. And besides all that, I was in the middle of some of the most challenging - and rewarding - academic experiences possible. If these orders went through, nearly all of it would go up in smoke.

Only one piece of good news had come out of this. That if I had to take off, my spot at the College was safe...but only if I came back alive to claim it.

* * *

I was in a foul mood by the time I got home later that evening. I thought I couldn't take much more and had resolved to spend as much time with my kids as I could - not only to make up for being gone on Khan for six months, but now, also to cover up the fact that I might very well be departing again shortly.

Most of my plans evaporated after I'd greeted Gabriel and Olivia and Liam, though, since I saw that their father was in much the same state of saddened shock as I was.

Bracing myself for more bad news, I walked over to where Willis sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, looking over some paperwork that seemed to have come from the envelope at his feet. A real paper letter. That was never a good sign.

"What's that?" I asked, too worked up to bother with the pleasantries. If more shit was about to hit the fan, I just wanted to know about it at this point so I could take it in.

Willis didn't reply right away, however. Instead he kept his grip on the letter, his head hung low.

Then I remembered. "That's your evaluation, isn't it? They didn't clear you?"

He shook his head, and his voice was rough when he finally spoke. "No. I'm still not cleared to fly. It's been four fucking months since the crash, Natalie. My career is over."

"Hey, watch the language," I said, noting with a small sigh of relief that the kids were out of earshot as they sat playing a game in the other room. "What is this about? Did they really say that? Let me see the note."

Slowly he held out the pages for me to look at. I quickly scanned the contents, starting with the standard introduction of "To Major Hawk, William Peter, UNSC Marines" and then moving on to the bulk of the text. I read the words "no significant improvement in flight function," and "return to normal activity without further restriction has been granted, but basic motions required for flight not present". I glanced down at the bottom then where the words that would have truly hit Willis where it hurt most were typed: "At this juncture, the following actions should be reviewed by the patient. Either a) whether the physical rehabilitation regimen has been beneficial and might continue to be, with a limit of six months of continuous therapy, b) whether a change in Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) might be considered, or c) whether a separation from the service might be assessed, under the article of medical discharge."

I blew out a breath when I was done reading, trying to take it in. The language in the evaluation was in no way uncertain. As of now Willis had three options to choose from, and none of them sounded good.

"This is the opposite of what we were hoping for, Coop."

"Yeah. I know."

He let out a sigh. "I can either keep doing therapy that doesn't work for another few months and hope it'll pan out, change my job, or get out of the Marines. Not one of them say I can still fly a bird."

"I know, honey," I repeated softly. "I'm sorry."

I put my hands against the counter and leaned on them, looking down at the ground. I wasn't sure what to say to someone I loved who'd just had all their hopes and dreams dashed. Before we'd always held out the hope that the doctors were wrong, but this looked pretty definitive.

Finally I placed a hand on his back and said, "It's up to you, Will. I can't tell you whether you should try some more, or go, or stay. Do what you feel you need to do. The family is fine with money so we'll survive either way. You need to find what you can be happy with."

My husband shook his head. "I don't know if I can stay without being a pilot, Coop. And I'm not so sure I want to keep trying."

"So you want out?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

The idea was as foreign to me as an undiscovered species. By now we'd both spent our whole adult lives in the Corps. I couldn't even imagine anything else for either of us. Willis had always been a pilot, or studying to be one. It was what he did and what he was, just like I'd always have my closest ties to the infantry. I wondered how leaving would change him - and us - if he decided to go that way.

Eventually he sighed again. "Well, it's a good thing you're going for O-6, Cooper. You might just be the sole breadwinner for a while."

He said it with such dejection that I didn't have the heart to tell him that soon, I might have to put even that on hold. And that I could be taking off on deployment again, too.


	10. Chapter 9: Family Values

**Chapter Nine: Family Values**

******0406 Hours, June 23, 2558. Cooper-Hawk Residence, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Ups and Downs," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

I was seventeen in the dream this time, fourteen years ago and in a vastly different setting than what I'd encountered before. This wasn't one of my campaigns as a young second lieutenant, or a battle-scarred first lieutenant, or a veteran captain, or even more recent dreams I'd had about being a major on Khan. This was from even earlier, when I was still in high school and had just met the man I'd spend the rest of my life with - Willis.

But before that, there'd been Ethan.

I was already sobbing in the dream when it began, and all I could think - all I could feel - was fear. Soon that was replaced with pain as I was shoved hard into the wall, then slapped in the face, and finally sucker punched. He thought I was already in love with Willis then, that I was going behind his back. I wasn't, but that mattered little to Ethan. He was good at making a story out of anything and blowing everything out of proportion, even before Willis had entered the picture that school year - and when Ethan got angry, it was always me who was his target.

"You called him? Why is his number on your datapad? _Why_?"

I couldn't see through the tears, couldn't get enough air in my lungs to answer as I lay on the ground on all fours from the hit. It was pathetic and had it been now, I would've grabbed the fucker by the balls and dropped him down with me, dishing the hurt a lot worse than I got. But I wasn't like that back then, and all I could do was take his rage.

"He's...he's my friend," I whimpered in a small voice.

"No, he's not _just your friend!_ You two were at his house together, alone! Do you think I'm stupid?"

I got kicked in the ribs this time, finally collapsing completely on the ground. It was then I realized that this was a nightmare retelling of the day Ethan had beaten me so badly I'd gone to the hospital. The last time he'd ever lay a hand on me again.

The dream went a little differently than in real life, though. As Ethan gathered up his fist for another blow, Willis came bursting through the door to the room, oddly dressed in fatigues he'd only don a few years later and carrying a submachine gun in his hands. He aimed it right at Ethan, who'd suddenly turned into the Flood form we'd run into on our mission in Austria during the War. We'd known it was him for sure because I'd found Ethan's dogtags after I'd shot him with my shotgun to finally put him down.

Here, though, Willis stood his ground while Ethan's Flood form went after me. Arms waving and warbling in that horrific noise, Flood Ethan swung one of his appendages at me while I continued lying there crying. This time when I got up though, I was suddenly in fatigues, too, shotgun in hand, and I rose up and kicked at his chest with my combat boot, shoving him back. I took all the hurt and the pain and the rage of that long period of abuse and I went after him with everything I had. I didn't want him dead, but a part of me had always wanted to see him pay in some way for what he'd done. The real courts had given him nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He deserved more.

In a fit of fury I threw the gun to the side and rushed him, tackling the Flood form to the ground and landing hard on top of him. Willis stood by his head, keeping his weapon trained on him, but neither spoke nor took any action himself. This was my time, and he let me have it.

Because after Willis had stopped Ethan, and I'd fallen hard for him and discovered what it was to be in a relationship that was healthy and good, I'd learned to value myself. To take care of myself and take shit from no one, something joining the Corps had instilled in me to an even greater degree. Now I had the tools and the self-assurance to get after the pricks like Ethan, and to never let someone control me through fear again.

In the dream I swung my fist at Ethan as he'd done countless times to me, for reasons imagined or even no reason at all. Revenge was wrong but it was cathartic, and as a Flood form it didn't bother me as much. I punched and punched and punched until the creature stopped moving, and just as I made a move to stand again, breathing hard, Willis stepped in closer.

"He's not dead," he said to me plainly.

I gave him a questioning look for a moment...then noticed too late that he was right.

Closely mirroring real life, Flood Ethan got up when we least expected it and slammed into Willis, throwing him hard against the far wall. I yelled out in the dream as my husband's body went limp and his chin hung low against his armored chest, unmoving.

Frozen in anguish, I didn't think to put up a defense when Flood Ethan whipped around and returned his attention to me. Almost slowly he moved in, backing me up to a window, and with a crazed grin - something impossible on his gnarled and decaying face - he pushed me out.

* * *

The last thing I remembered was the sound and feel of being forced through breaking glass. I woke up with my heart thudding inside my chest and sat straight up in bed, ready to react to the adrenaline coursing through my body. In a minute I slowed my breathing, though, and realized the nightmare was over. Ethan had been dead for six years now, I reasoned to myself. And Willis was lying right beside me, still asleep and very clearly alive. The house was quiet. There wasn't anything wrong.

Yet in some way, I still felt that there was. I had an indescribable feeling of impending suffering and I couldn't make it go away enough for me to lay back down and try to return to sleep. Not after a dream like that. So once again, I found myself getting up alone in the middle of the night.

Awake now and unsure of what else to do, I simply did the same thing I'd done the last time and pulled on some sweats to venture out into the kitchen. There I fished out the bottle of liquor I'd raided last time and poured some into a glass, then took a long swig. Almost immediately I felt a calm settle over me, and while the dream was still fresh in my mind, I wasn't as bothered. It was like peace.

_Well, if the meds won't do the trick, at least this does,_ I thought.

I remembered to put the bottle away this time and moved over into the living room, flicking on the holoscreen at a low volume before throwing myself down on the couch. I wasn't about to sit there in the dark on my own again and brood. At least this way, I could maybe take my mind off things.

I'd been watching for about twenty minutes when I heard a panicked, "_Mom!_" come from one of the rooms. I got up as if on a spring and bounded through the hall, rushing into Gabriel's room. My heart only steadied once I was inside and saw him sitting up in his bed, looking sleepy but scared.

"Gabe? What's wrong?"

He reached out for me and hugged me hard before I could even sit down on the edge of the bed. I ran my fingers through his light brown hair as I hugged him back.

"Honey, what is it?"

"I...had a...bad dream," he said with a quivering voice. "It was...about you."

"Me? Why? What happened?"

He sniffled against my shirt. "You died," he whispered. "You left us and you didn't come back."

"Sweetheart...I'm not going to die. I'm not going anywhere." The words stuck in my throat as I knew that I couldn't be sure about the latter part - or the former really, either. But for now I didn't want my son being even more afraid, and I wasn't quite ready to impart the news to my family yet about Requiem until I knew for sure. "Where are these ideas coming from?"

"I don't know. I get worried when you and Dad have to leave."

Those words were like a stab to the heart. As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't always protect my family from the realities of the job we'd chosen. But knowing it caused my firstborn this much distress was worrisome. What hurt even more was that I knew he'd already been through a number of traumatic events in his young life, when he'd been a little under three years old and had to go through the battle of Earth. He'd also had to say goodbye to Willis and I more than once, when we'd left on missions and most especially when we'd had to go to Kenya - the final fight both Willis and I had thought we wouldn't come back from. It was no wonder the poor kid was left spooked.

I was about to whisper more assurances when Willis came into the room, rubbing at his eyes but looking concerned.

"Natalie? Gabe? Are you guys okay?"

Gabriel, still holding onto me tight, nodded. "Dad, I'm...sorry. I know I shouldn't...cry."

A corner of my husband's lips curled up as he made his way to the other side of our son's bed. "Nope. You're a big boy now, and your brother and sister look up to you so you've got to set the example. But being tough doesn't mean you never get scared. What happened?"

"He had a nightmare," I answered. "About me."

"A nightmare?" Willis asked, ruffling Gabe's hair that looked just like his own. "Then you know that whatever it was, bud, it's definitely not real. Me and your mom are still here, and we're both okay and so are Liam and Liv. None of us are going anywhere anytime soon. So what's there to worry about?"

"N-nothing, I guess."

"That's right. So let's get you back to sleep and you'll see us again in the morning, okay?"

"M'kay."

As Willis tucked our son back into bed, I felt bad about not saying anything then. But I figured the middle of the night wasn't the best time to broach the subject. I guess it would never be the right time, but for now, with my son feeling comforted by the presence of both his parents, I didn't want to ruin the moment.

* * *

Going through my classes the next day felt like a chore. Not only because I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, but also because I had looming concerns about if and when we were going to get new orders to deploy, something I'd thought wasn't going to be a possibility for at least a year. And because things with Willis - and what he was going to do about his career - were still very uncertain. I almost relished gym hour since I was able to work out hard enough to block out anymore thoughts, and concentrate only on keeping my body honed for the next field exercise - or real-life mission. Either way, I was going to need all I had.

At the end of the day I stopped by the regiment offices, if only to allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief when I found out we weren't getting shipped out quite yet. What I did hear from Major Brewer, however, wasn't exactly good news.

"Ma'am, I was going to leave about an hour ago, but we had an incident during training out there today," she said to me, running a hand through her short red hair. "Major Mullen was badly injured."

I frowned as I stood in the hallway. "How bad?"

"Pretty bad, Colonel. He got too close to an explosion during live-fire and got himself a concussion and a couple of broken ribs. One of them didn't break too cleanly and he's going to need surgery, plus recovery time."

"Dammit." I put a hand to my temple. "So what you're saying is, if we do end up leaving for Requiem soon, he's not going to be healthy enough by then to come with us."

"No, ma'am. And that leaves us with a void in the command spot for the 904th Battalion...unless you want Captain Warfield back on board."

I snorted. "No. He caused enough trouble last time he got promoted. He can't be leadership material until he learns to take orders." Truth was, he was lucky I hadn't officially court-martialed him after his persistent insubordination on Khan. What I'd done instead was demote him from his former rank of major, but even that was a lesser punishment than sending him in front of a military judge.

"Anyone else we can use as a replacement if we have to, then?"

Wracking my brain for a moment, I thought of a possible candidate or two but eventually dismissed them as having too little experience. Then a thought began to form in my head. "Actually, I think I might have someone in mind, Major. But he's not from the regiment, and it might be hard to get him."

"Who, ma'am?"

"One of my classmates at the College," I replied. "His name is Major Justin Delaney."

* * *

Later that evening I was sitting with the twins at the kitchen table, studying more material from class while they colored. Having already forgotten about early this morning, Gabriel was out in the living room with Willis, having a blast playing some games together on the holoscreen. I could hear both of them laughing on occasion and it made me smile. I was glad that despite all the challenges we were currently facing, they could still find time to relax and have fun.

I tried my best not to think about the fact that soon, I might not be able to enjoy the luxury of having my husband and son close by anymore, just in the next room. Or the twins next to me either, for that matter. I swallowed hard.

"Mommy, what're you reading?"

I glanced up and saw my daughter staring at me with green eyes that mirrored my own, and the same long brown hair. I picked her up from the seat beside me and sat her in my lap to show her. "Stuff for my classes. This chapter's about how to move around tanks and trucks."

Though she probably wouldn't be too interested in the details, I knew she'd like seeing the pictures and diagrams. There weren't any graphic depictions of battle in the textbooks we used, only representations of the best tactical approaches and photos of the types of equipment we'd use.

"Wow," she said after a while of scrolling through the pages. "Are there planes in there, too?"

"Yup. A whole other chapter on 'em. As a colonel I need to know how to work with all kinds of things."

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Really? I wanna see!"

I chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're your father's daughter, all right. Okay, here's the chapter on moving around all sorts of _planes_."

"Cool!"

Olivia had had a love of all kinds of aircraft since birth, something I attributed to Willis's own passion for the same things. I knew for sure it wasn't something she'd gotten from me, since I had something closely resembling a phobia to being inside any flying bucket I couldn't fight my way out of, like I could on the ground. After a moment Liam came over to check out the pictures, too, and soon my study session was usurped by the greater wants of my two four-year-olds.

They were both peering down at my datapad, captivated, when Willis and Gabriel walked in.

"Hey, what's that?" my oldest son asked.

"Pictures from my textbook. Want to take a look?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, five more minutes, guys. Then I need to get back to reading, please."

While the kids sat around the table, engrossed in the pad, I made my way over to Willis and rested my head against his shoulder as he enveloped me in his arms.

My husband kissed the top of my head and asked, "What are they looking at?"

"Just some military hardware. Liv asked me about it first, then she wanted to see all the pictures of the Pelicans and Broadswords and stuff, and then Liam got curious with all of her _oooing_ and _ahhing_."

Willis laughed. "That's usually how it works. I remember doing the same thing with Jamie and my little brother growing up."

"Speaking of little brothers, have you heard from Matt yet?"

"Not for a while. Supposedly he's still at boot camp doing his thing. He should be graduating in a couple more weeks."

My eyes went wide. "Already?"

"Yup. He's been there eight weeks now. At that point he'll officially become a UNSC Marine like us." Willis let out a heavy sigh. "Jesus. Isn't that a scary thought? Soon I'll have someone else to worry about. Like you and my little sister weren't enough."

I gave him a squeeze. "We'll be fine, Will. All of us. We all survived the Flood, and the War, and Khan. Whatever comes next should be a piece of cake after everything else."

What I didn't say aloud, however, was that I already had a pretty good idea what the next big thing would entail.


	11. Chapter 10: When Duty Calls

**Chapter Ten: When Duty Calls**

**********1832 Hours, June 27, 2558. City of Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Long-Awaited Message," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

A few days later I left the grounds of Pensacola's War College as quickly as I could once my classes were over to get back into the city. I had an important engagement this evening that I didn't want to miss: my son Gabriel's first soccer match since he'd started camp.

I was thankful to arrive just on time at the sound of the starting whistle blow, looking around for a minute for Willis and the twins before spotting them standing on the sidelines close by. I cut my way through the crowd, passing mostly gatherings of other military families, and returned salutes from a number of Marines still in uniform. Right now I was none too pleased by the protocol; I simply wanted to watch my kid play.

Willis turned as I approached and gave me a small grin as he held Olivia up on his shoulders. Little Liam stood beside him, quietly taking everything in.

"Hey, honey," he said, leaning down a little to kiss me. I kissed him back - technically not something we were supposed to do since Willis was in uniform this time, too - and I heard our daughter make a heaving noise.

I smirked as we broke apart and looked at her. "Hi, Liv. I see you up there, too."

"Hi, Mommy. We're watching Gabe play!"

"I know. Let's see how your big brother does." I walked over to where Liam was then and stood behind him, putting my hands on his small shoulders as I pulled him against me. "How about you, little man? You having fun yet, baby?"

"Uh-huh!" my youngest son cried. "Daddy said we get hotdogs after the game if Gabe scores a goal. I really hope he gets it in."

I laughed and exchanged a quick glance with Willis. "Well, I guess that's one way to get you guys engaged."

We watched without distractions for a while, cheering on Gabriel and his team as they hustled up and down the field. He had a good shot on goal at one point and both twins held their breath, waiting for the kick that would grant them a junk food dinner, but it didn't happen just yet. Gabe was beaten at the last second by one of the defenders on the other team, and then the ref blew the whistle for a corner kick that another kid on our team took.

"Aw," Liam whined, tugging on my arms and stepping up onto my boots to see better. "I wanted hotdogs."

"Li, there's still a lot of the game left so don't get discouraged, little buddy," my husband said. "And stop using your mother as a gym set."

What our youngest son was trying to do now was use my arms to hang off of. When he'd been smaller I'd been able to hold him up like that without a problem, but he'd grown a lot while Willis and I had been on Khan. Especially after a physically demanding day at the College, I didn't have enough left in me to get him off the ground. Luckily his dad's scolding did the trick and he stopped...for the moment.

Halftime finally came around and Willis set Olivia down to go run around the empty field for a while with her twin brother. In the meantime Gabe remained in a huddle with his team and their coaches on the other side.

"We need to look into getting the twins into something active, too," I said to Willis now that the kids were gone. "I don't think their day camp is taking good enough advantage of their energy levels."

"I can take them over to the park for a while during the second half. It's just down the street from here. I think they've stood still for as long as they possibly could."

I gave him a look. "Should I just tell them Gabe scored when you get back so we can have that barbecue?"

"Nah. We're doing it either way. They just don't know that."

We stood there side-by-side for another moment, not getting too close because of regulations while we were in uniform. I looked over at his though and wondered again how much longer I'd get to see him in it.

"Have you made a decision yet?" I asked quietly.

My husband folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "No. It's a big leap to make, Cooper. And I'm still not sure which way to jump." He sighed. "But I have to choose soon. The letter gave me fourteen days to make a move, and one week's almost gone already. I guess we'll find out soon."

I reached over to squeeze his arm in silent support when my datapad buzzed. I pulled it out of a pocket on my uniform jacket and frowned. "This is from the regiment," I said to him. "I'll be right back."

After stepping out of earshot, I answered the call. "Lieutenant Colonel Cooper here."

"Ma'am, this is Lieutenant Lloyd. Is this a bad time? I noticed you didn't stop by your office today, so I - "

"I'm at my kid's soccer game, Cal. I'm guessing it's important, so just tell me."

It was obvious he'd been spending time with Brewer again. She was the usually the one to get a little longwinded instead of cutting to the chase.

The ONI operative released a sigh on the other end, and that's how I knew for sure the news was bad. "I won't sugarcoat it, Colonel. I got the follow-up message from HighCom just now. The 52nd's going to Requiem."

I suddenly felt like someone had dropped a bucketful of ice on me, but I tried not to let it show. "How soon?"

"Two weeks, ma'am. That's all the time they're giving us to prepare, so they must need us out there ASAP."

"And the port - I mean, have they even found a way to get us there?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be giving you and Major Brewer the full briefing on that tomorrow. In the meantime, you're going to need to contact the Dean at the College and let him know about the situation so they can suspend your classes. HighCom's already approved of the departure for you, but it's best to check in just the same."

"Got it. I'll get that done in the morning then. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem. I just wish the news had been better. Enjoy the rest of that game."

_I'm going to have to now,_ I thought to myself as the connection cut, still in a bit of shock. _This is going to be the last time in who knows how long that I'll get to see my son play._

* * *

I headed back to the sidelines in a daze, feeling sad and upset and overwhelmed all at the same time. I'd only just gotten home less than two months ago from a campaign that had cost me many precious lives - and almost my husband's and my own. I wasn't recovering from the huge blows that well so far, and I wondered how that might hamper my performance on Requiem. I was also in the middle of War College, Willis was going through a transitional phase of his career, and our three kids were expecting to have me around for almost a year. If I hadn't been sure of what to say to them before, I really didn't know how to share the news now that it was official.

Willis gave me a look as soon as I returned to his side with my arms crossed over my chest, refusing to make eye contact with him. "Natalie? What's up? Did something happen?"

"Don't take the kids to the park."

"Huh?"

"Can you guys just stay here while we watch Gabe, please? For me?"

My husband frowned. "Coop, what - "

"Hey, big brother! How's that high life as a major going?"

Both of us turned around at the voice, grinning when we saw who it was. Twenty-year-old Matthew Hawk in the flesh, dressed head to toe in fatigues that beared the symbol of the UNSC Marine Corps, and with one single stripe on his sleeve. It appeared the younger Hawk had come home early as a surprise. He stood there at perfect attention, saluting us, before Willis pulled him in for a hug.

"Christ, Matt! What are you doing here? You said you still had a couple more weeks!"

Matthew chuckled. "Got you, didn't I? Graduated earlier this week. Finally got time off to come see you guys now that I'm officially a PFC." He glanced over at me. "Like the new look, Nat?"

"Love it," I said, still beaming. "Come here, kid. Congratulations."

I gave my brother-in-law a hug as well, and then we stepped apart, taking in the newest member of the Corps in our family. Willis peppered his baby brother with questions, like how boot camp had been, how long he was on leave for, what his new unit was, etc. I stood there and listened for a while, then decided to leave the two brothers to it while I went to go get Liam and Liv off the field before the next half began. They went a little crazy too when they saw the new arrival, and ran off ahead of me yelling, "Uncle Matt!"

"Hey, guys!"

Matthew had only just met Gabriel and the twins when we'd gotten home from Khan. Before then he'd been presumed dead after the ship he was traveling on on a school trip during the War had been attacked by the Covenant. My brother-in-law had only been seven at the time, and Willis and I had just graduated high school together on Mars. We spent the next twelve years thinking he was dead until I'd found him in a rebel uniform one night on Khan during a skirmish with the locals.

His parents had only found out about his survival via video link at the end of our mission, and had seen him only once face-to-face when we'd stopped on Mars to pick up the kids on our way home. It'd been a happy and teary reunion, especially for his mother, and she'd been reluctant to let her younger son leave again when he'd announced his intention to ship off to boot camp right away. Eventually his parents had come to understand his desire, though, and had given him their blessing to attend.

"So how'd you even know where to find us?" I heard Willis ask Matthew then, continuing with the inquiries. Matthew started to reply when I cut him off.

"Honey, the poor kid just got here and you're bombarding him with questions," I said to Willis. "How about giving him a second to take it in and enjoy his nephew's game?"

Willis smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, okay. Sorry, little brother. I'll cool it and let you relax for a while." My husband looked over at me while the kids bounced with energy. "You sure you don't want me to run them over to the park for a few minutes? Might make for an easier night. They're even more hyped now that Matt's here."

"Okay. But don't be gone too long."

"We won't."

As Willis left with Liam and Olivia, the whistle went off again as the soccer game resumed. Matthew and I stood watching Gabe for a minute until he spoke.

"So...do I have to call you 'ma'am' now?"

I smirked. "Sure do. But only on official business. Here you don't need to worry about it so much. I take it you'll be staying with us a few days?"

"Yeah, I'd like to. After that I'm off to visit my parents on Mars. I'm sure they'll want to see the new uniform, and they've been calling and writing me nonstop. Sometimes I think they still can't quite believe I'm alive."

"It'll take them some time. It was crazy finding you out there after all these years. But don't worry. They'll get used to it eventually, like we did. We just got a lot more time with you on Khan."

"Yeah, I know. We'll work it out." He rubbed at his nearly bald head, his light brown hair shaved close to his scalp. "So what's the scoop on the homefront here? How's my brother doing?"

"We take it day by day. He's fully recovered from his wounds now, but his therapy to return to flight status hasn't been going well. They sent him a letter the other day saying he has two weeks to decide whether to keep at it for another few months, switch MOS, or leave the Corps."

"Ouch. What did he choose?"

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think he's even decided himself yet." I let out a sigh then. "And there's more."

"What?"

I gave him a look. "I haven't told your brother yet, or your nephews or niece, so keep it on the down low."

"Okay."

"I'm shipping out in two weeks with the 52nd," I said in a rush.

His deep brown eyes went wide. "Holy shit. And you haven't told Will yet?"

"No. I just found out for sure a few minutes ago, actually. I didn't want to stir anything up until it was official, and now that it is...we're here, and you showed up. I was going to wait until we got home tonight, but I'm not...really sure what to say."

Matthew glanced down at his boots. "I get it. But how can they even order you to deploy? I thought you were studying at War College right now to make full colonel."

"I am. Apparently that doesn't matter when they need you bad enough."

"Guess so. Where are you guys going?"

I was about to tell him that I couldn't say when we heard someone clear their throat behind us. Matthew and I both turned around to see Willis standing there, the twins still coming up behind him. I hadn't even realized that much time had already gone by.

My husband's expression said he was anything but happy at the moment. He looked right at me with his hazel glare and said, "Natalie? What's this about shipping out? And who's going where?"


	12. Chapter 11 Mutual Discomfort

**Chapter Eleven: Mutual Discomfort**

As usual, things hadn't gone as planned and I suddenly found myself staring down Willis, who looked like a cross between hurt and angry. I'd seen it in his expression before but not lately, and I was trying to deal with mixed feelings of my own on the subject. I couldn't see how he could possibly be mad at me for something I couldn't control.

"I am," I said, fessing up as quickly as I could so the twins wouldn't overhear as they bounded over. "I just got the news and I leave in two weeks."

"You're _leaving_? For where?"

I shot my husband a look. "Will, please keep it down. This isn't the time or place to let the kids know. We'll talk about this when we get home, okay?"

Willis seemed at a loss for a moment as to how to take in the news. "But...I don't get it. We just got back from Khan not too long ago. You're at War College. How the hell are you up for another mission already?" Then his steady gaze flickered in anger again. "Did you volunteer for this? With everything our family is going through right now? With our son waking up crying in the middle of the night because he's worried you'll get killed on your next deployment?"

There it was: he thought I'd asked for it. I didn't know whether to laugh or rage back at him, so I did what I figured was more acceptable out in public. "You think I want to be gone right now? Jesus, do you not even notice the kind of shape I'm in? The nightmares and everything?"

"That call you took for the regiment...this was what it was about, wasn't it?" Ignoring my words, Willis narrowed his eyes at me. "How long have you known about this, Cooper? It can't have just come out of the blue."

"Not long. The possibility was brought up a week ago but I didn't want to say anything in case it didn't go."

My husband just shook his head. "Unbelievable. I can't fathom why you wouldn't - "

"Uncle Matt," a small voice behind us said then, cutting into the argument. "Why are Mommy and Daddy fighting?"

Matthew looked like a deer caught in the headlights, clearly unsure of how to respond, so I did it for him.

"We're not fighting, baby," I said to Olivia, crouching down to her level for a second to stroke her cheek in reassurance. "We're just talking." I threw my brother-in-law a pleading look. "You and Li stay with Uncle Matt for a minute and finish watching the game. We'll be right back."

I waited for Matt to acquiesce to my silent request before looking to Willis to do the same, and he gave me a rough grunt as he picked up his feet and moved with me. When we were once again out of earshot - this time of both the kids and the other parents, as well as Matt - we stopped.

"I told you this wasn't a good place to talk, Will," I said to him. "But you can't wait to have it out about this, can you?"

He sighed, still exasperated. "I just want to understand why you're leaving, and why you didn't tell me that it was even a _remote_ possibility when it shouldn't be. I thought we were finally back, Natalie. We're home. Why would you go and fuck it all - "

"Goddammit, Willis," I replied forcefully then, getting fed up myself. "I just said I _didn't_ volunteer for it! I was just as surprised as you were by all this. This is absolutely the last thing I want to be doing right now. You think I don't get that this is a bad time for you, and for the kids, and for me and for _us_? Guess what? No one asked how I felt about going! I just get the call and I go. You know that. You know how this works."

He swallowed hard. "But your classes..."

"Do not exempt me from doing my duty when I'm the only one qualified to do it," I finished. "And if it helps anything, it's an important mission. They really need me for something big, so at least there's that."

"Where?" Willis asked for the third time.

"I'm not allowed to say. I'm sorry, Will. Right now it's just me and my XO and the spook that know. We're not even briefing the troops about the location until we've arrived."

Determined to find something in all this to be mad about, Willis continued to stand his ground. "Okay. So you didn't volunteer. But the fact remains that you didn't even warn me something like this might be coming up, the moment you realized. You know how things are with me and the squadron right now. Everything's up in the air and having a bombshell dropped on me by my wife definitely doesn't help."

I nodded, trying to defuse some of the tension. "I know, and I'm sorry. I just...I didn't want to give you and the kids something else to worry about when we have so much more going on. Especially if it turned out to be a false alarm."

"Well, it wasn't," Willis said with a hint of sorrow and disappointment in his tone. He turned to head back towards the sidelines to watch the game, leaving me standing there staring after him. "And now, we're the ones who have to deal with it."

* * *

The remainder of the evening went as well as could be expected, though it was an awkward affair. We got to watch the last twenty minutes of the match, then we all put on happy faces to congratulate Gabriel and his team on their win. All three kids were excited at the prospect of finally getting hotdogs for dinner, and while Willis fired up the grill in the backyard while the sun slowly made its way down the horizon, I cracked open two cold bottles of beer from the fridge and brought one over to Matt.

"Wow," he said from behind his sunglasses when I approached with the brew. "Haven't had one of these in a long time. We weren't allowed any alcohol in boot. Thanks, Nat."

"No problem," I replied, taking a seat beside him on one of the outdoor chairs on our back deck. I watched as my three kids ran around the yard for a minute, and tried to let the moment sink in as I took a swig. I had a feeling I wasn't going to be getting a lot of lazy late evenings while on Requiem...and I knew for a fact that I'd be leaving the comfort of my own home and my family. The thought made my heart clench so I drank again.

"This is really great, Natalie. You and Will have some nice digs out here."

"Thanks." I snorted. "I guess it pays to be a lieutenant colonel and a major. Sometimes."

"I bet you'll miss it when you're on your mission, huh? Big house, big yard, lots of space."

"Not as much as I'll miss Will and the kids."

"Yeah, about that...I'm sorry he got mad at you earlier. Like I've told you before, my brother can be unreasonably stubborn sometimes."

I chuckled. "It's okay. So can I. I get that it's mostly just him being frustrated with the situation and trying to find a way to come to terms with it. Hell, so am I. I probably like this even less than he does, but it wasn't my choice to make."

Matthew turned his beer bottle up and nodded. "Kind of like me. I'm still waiting to hear about where I have to go to for my first post."

"You branched infantry, right?"

"That's right. I hope it's not somewhere too far away. I'd like to be close to family, now that I'm finally back."

"When do you find out?"

"Should get my orders in a couple days I think."

I decided to go ahead and ask him something that had been bugging me lately. "Have you spoken to your sister yet?"

"Jamie? Yeah. She about blew a gasket when she found out about me, kinda like my parents, and then she started crying. Took me and my mom and dad a while to calm her down. She got over it eventually though and we talked for a while. It was nice." He took another sip from his bottle. "Not too long though, since she's still out on her ship right now." My brother-in-law grinned. "Can't believe she chose to go Navy."

I smiled, too. "Switch it up a little, right? Otherwise we'd have a family full of jarheads."

My oldest son caught my attention then as he played around with his siblings. Liam had a football in his hand and Gabriel tackled him to the grass pretty hard, eliciting a loud yelp from my youngest boy.

"Gabriel Matthew Hawk!" I shouted, standing up. "Be gentle with your brother and sister! They're a lot smaller than you!"

Gabe looked up from the grass with an embarrassed expression. "Yes, Mom."

"Liam, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Mommy."

"All right. Bring the football over to your uncle Matt. He's going to hold onto it while you guys go wash up for dinner. Hotdogs will be ready soon."

The kids practically jumped all over themselves to get up the stairs to the deck, tossing the ball to their uncle before running inside. I left my beer on the outside table and went in with them to oversee the hand-washing. Once they were done the kids all rushed back out before I could go with them, waiting for the food to be served. That's when I noticed that Willis wasn't out by the grill anymore. Matthew was now, and he began handing out plates to Gabe and the twins.

_Where in the hell?_

My question was answered when I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind. Here in the house we were mostly hidden from view, and Willis bent down a little to kiss the side of my neck. Between that and the small amount of beer I just drank, I practically melted in his grasp, even though we'd been mad at each other for most of the past couple hours. Somehow my body didn't get the memo...or didn't care.

"I'm sorry, Coop," he whispered. "I know it's not your fault. I know you didn't ask for it. But still, you've got to know how hard it's going to be without you this time around with everything that's been happening. And to top it off, this'll be the first time since the War that we've been separated that long." He pulled back a bit and sighed. "It's going to be a tough adjustment. For all of us."

"I know," I said softly. "I wish there was something I could do, but there isn't. I have to go."

He turned me around and kissed me on the lips this time, pressing harder as he pushed me against the counter. I kissed him back, feeling the heat of the moment that we couldn't act on just yet, but also the hurt. This was going to be a lot tougher to handle than last time.

Because when I left in two weeks, Willis wasn't going with me.


	13. Chapter 12: Overview

**Chapter Twelve: Overview**

I didn't get much sleep that night. It was almost a blessing in disguise, since it meant I didn't have time during the night to go through an elaborate and terrifying set piece on the history of my life so far. But having to face the day with a lack of zees wasn't so great, either.

I showered and dressed mechanically, then went into the kitchen to get myself a strong cup of coffee before heading out. On top of everything else I knew that today Willis and I were going to have to tell the kids I was leaving soon, and I definitely wasn't looking forward to breaking their hearts.

Though I tried to be as quiet as I could as I crept out the front door in the early hours, I heard Matthew stir on the couch just before I left. He sat up from under the blanket and blinked a few times, then looked over at me from across the room.

"Nat? What's going on?"

"Nothing. Just leaving for base. Will and the kids are still asleep. Sorry for waking you."

He nodded sleepily as he put his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes again. "S'okay. Bye."

"See you later."

My first stop this morning was the grounds at the War College, so I could meet with the dean about my departure. Like Cal had told me yesterday, he was already aware of the situation and assured me my spot was safe when I got back. Before I turned to leave though, I had one more thing I needed to ask him.

"Sir, just out of curiosity...I had an incident occur with one of my battalion commanders recently, and my XO let me know that he wasn't going to be fit for duty by the time we leave. If I were to request that one of the officers here at the College come with us to replace Major Mullen...would that be a possibility?"

The dean gave me a look. "Who're you requesting, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Major Justin Delaney, sir. I hate to pull him from his classes, but I think we could really use his help where we're going. I'd like to have the best I can gather."

Much to my surprise, the dean nodded right away. "Send me the official request and we'll get him for you. HighCom made it clear that they wanted no expense spared in this operation. You'll have what you ask for."

"Thank you, sir."

Again the dean nodded. "You're dismissed."

It was only after that that I made my way to the regimental offices. From now until I left, that's where I'd be spending most of my time. There'd be no more studying, and no more courses to take - only preparing myself and my troops for the tough fight ahead.

I caught Major Brewer coming down the hall as I made my way to my office. I pulled her aside as soon as we'd exchanged salutes.

"Good news," I said. "I just spoke with the Dean at the College. We're getting Delaney for the mission."

"Great. One less thing to check off the prep list," the major replied. "Did Caleb - I mean, did Lieutenant Lloyd let you know we've only got two weeks to get everything together?"

I couldn't help but sigh. "Yeah. We'll do our best. Is he here now?"

My XO gestured up ahead. "He said he'd meet us by your door. I'm assuming he slipped in from the other side of the building."

For a fleeting moment I wondered if that meant they were off again, but I had way too much going on in my head to spare that more than a second's thought. Cal was waiting for us where Brewer said he'd be, and I let them both inside my office and took a seat.

"So," I began, placing my hands in my lap for once and exchanging a look with the spook. "You said you had a briefing prepared for us, Lieutenant. Let's hear it."

"Yes, ma'am." The ONI operative pulled his datapad from one of the cargo pockets of his black fatigues and placed it in the middle of my desk, showing us a holographic map of a metallic sphere. "This is Requiem. For all intents and purposes it's a planet, with its own artificial gravity and climate ranges, varied landscapes, flora, fauna, etc. The difference is, you can't just go barging through the atmosphere like any other place. You have to take a back door to the surface."

"Which is?" Major Brewer prompted.

"It's hard to describe, ma'am. Best I can say is it's kind of like a portal of its own on the shield world's outer layer. You have to get sucked into it from there." Lloyd glanced at me then. "I mentioned yesterday that HighCom had found something for us. I'm not sure whether this is lucky or not, but it turns out a viable portal exists within this star system that'll take us right there. So we're not going to have to travel too far out to get a link-up to Requiem. The bad news is, we now know that the reverse is true, too."

I gave a snort. "Let's hope that never becomes a problem. What else?"

"Requiem has a bit of a recent history for us," the Naval lieutenant continued. "As you were already aware of, Colonel, we had forces fighting on its surface for most of the time we were on Khan. ONI decided to dub this the 'First Battle of Requiem'. We won our initial battle there but given the newness of the enemy we discovered on the shield world, and the fact that the victory was more a matter of holding the enemy back than a resounding defeat, our Marines and sailors out there are hurting now. They've been deployed for months, running low on men, supplies, and morale, while our enemies have been amassing their troops and pushing back hard. HighCom says the commander there is close to his wit's end, and that's where we come in.

"The 52nd Regiment will be arriving as reinforcement to the Marines already on Requiem. I got that confirmed yesterday in the brass' message. I'm not sure if that means we're to expect a lot of help from the personnel already on the surface, though, since it sounds like they've been beaten pretty hard lately." Lloyd looked to me, then at Major Brewer. "To be honest, I'm not sure what our numbers are going to look like by the time we get there."

Lieutenant Lloyd paused for a moment to let that sink in. What he was telling us was that while we were technically going in as reinforcements, we were the only "fresh" Marines arriving. As fresh as we could be after coming off a several-month-long campaign ourselves on Khan, anyway.

"Okay. Any idea of the enemies' numbers?" I asked.

Caleb frowned. "Reports vary, ma'am. We could be facing up to three battalions each of both Prometheans and Storm. That'd make us pretty even with the UNSC forces already there."

"So we're not winning this by shear strength."

"No, ma'am. It's pure blood, sweat, and tears out there, from what I hear. Not a good place to be."

I smirked a little, more resigned than amused. "To quote my dead best friend, it sounds absolutely delightful."

"That's not the only thing we're going out there for, though," Lloyd continued. "The brass also wants us to start setting up a research station there to survey the world. So, sort of like with Khan, we're also going there to be the muscle to back up the civvie scientists in case they need protection. Which they will, given the state of things."

"Great." I brought a hand to my temple. The last time we'd had to work with scientists when we were out on Qamar Island wasn't so bad, but I'd had continual clashes with the lead brain over when enough was enough, and when we had to let the research go in order to save lives. She'd also gotten pretty personal with her attacks towards the end, dissatisfied with my orders, and I hadn't taken kindly to that one bit. "Any idea who's going to be on board?"

The spook seemed uncomfortable for a moment. "Well...in the interest of getting our most knowledgeable group of scientists and Marines out on Requiem, HighCom's decided to send us in with the same team as before. They feel their experience will be a good complement to ours."

Brewer shot me a look. "Couldn't ask for more, huh, Colonel?"

I didn't have the heart to respond. _Just the fact that we're going is bad enough,_ I thought to myself. _Now I know the situation out there is deteriorating, and we've got to babysit a cluster of brainiacs, too. _One of whom had known my mother, and somehow felt entitled to use that against me when needed.

"Okay," I said then. "I think we've gotten the gist of it now. Basically our trip to Requiem isn't going to be a recreational one. We'll have to keep on our toes and watch all our sectors, make sure the Prometheans and Storm don't run us out. Or kill our scientists."

"Sounds about right, ma'am," Caleb replied.

"Well, at least we've done this sort of thing before. Let's hope we can pull it off again."

* * *

I stayed with the regiment for the rest of the day, overseeing their accelerated training now that we knew we were set to ship out in just a couple weeks. Rather than bright and ready, as I'd seen them before, the expressions out there this time around were glum and resigned. It didn't bode well for the state of morale going into this mess. I knew that on top of everything else, I was going to have to make a lot more personal appearances at the company and platoon level to get the Marines mentally on board with the mission. Being sent off on another so soon after Khan was taking its toll on everyone, it seemed.

When I got home I knew I was in for even more forlorn faces - those of my two sons and daughter. I was still trying to figure out how to best break the news to them as I walked in.

"Mommy's home!" Olivia shouted, running over to me by the front door to wrap her little arms around my legs. I smiled and stooped a bit to hug her back.

"Hi, sweetheart. Where's your dad and your brothers?"

"Outside with Uncle Matt." She made a face like she thought better of what she said. "Well, Daddy is. Gabe and Liam are playing puzzles with me. Daddy said it was okay because he can see us from here."

"All right. Keep playing with your brothers. I need to talk to your dad and uncle for a sec."

I stepped through the living room then, stopping to give two hugs - one for Liam and one for Gabe - before going through the sliding glass door on the side and out onto the deck. There Matthew and Willis were standing, talking quietly amongst themselves. Both wore perturbed expressions.

"What's going on?" I asked.

They'd turned and watched me come through the door as soon as they heard it click open. Willis faced me first and let out a rough sigh, his arms folded across his chest.

"My brother got his orders today," he answered. "Matt's going with you when you leave."

"Huh?"

Matthew shifted his stance. "I got a message straight from the top earlier this afternoon. Because of my involvement in the mission on Khan, I'm being assigned to the 213th Infantry. It says Major Danielle Brewer's my battalion CO."

"52nd Regiment?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Damn. I'm sorry, Matt."

My brother-in-law shrugged. "Not your fault. I signed up for the Marines, remember?"

"Yeah, but...I bet you weren't expecting to have to leave again so soon."

"Neither were you. It happens."

I looked over to Will, who seemed like he was still processing the information. Taking a step toward him, I said, "Honey, are you - ?"

"I'm fine. I've had a couple hours to digest it." He shook his head. "I just wish I could go with you two. Letting you go is bad enough, Coop. Now my brother, too, while I'll just be at home deciding what to do, not being able to watch your backs..."

"We'll be fine, big bro," Matthew said with a little more pep in his voice than he appeared to feel. "Nat and I'll watch each other's six."

I nodded, somehow unable to find more encouraging words to say at the moment. This deployment was turning into a crapfest all around, but sometimes you just had to take it and suck it up. Thankfully all three of us knew that.

Willis took a deep breath then and met my gaze. "Okay. I guess that leaves us just one more thing to do. Now that you're home, I think it's time we tell the kids."

"All right," I said in a low voice. "Let's head in."

My husband and I went back into the house and had all three kids sit down on the couch while we stood. Matthew had opted to remain outside, probably foreseeing the uproar we were about to cause. This time it was my turn to take in a deep breath before I began.

"There's no easy way to say this, guys. I know I told you that your dad and I were both going to be home for a long time now, but things have changed. Your dad is staying home with you, but I'm going to have to leave in two weeks."

The small silent stares I got in return were heartbreaking. I wished there was something I could do, something more I could say to make them feel better about things, but there wasn't - and for that I felt...lacking.

"I'm really sorry, babies. I don't want to leave again so soon but I have to."

Willis came up behind me then and put his hands on my shoulders in silent support. "Your mom really hates doing this, guys. And I know you're all sad to see her go, just like me, but it'll be okay. I love each of you very much."

"And so do I," I added, swiping a tear from the corner of my eye.

When I looked back at our kids, the twins continued sitting there in shock. Our oldest looked red-faced, however, and soon exploded in hurt.

"No!" he yelled, standing up from the couch. He balled up his little fists and stared right at me. "You said you weren't leaving for a year, Mom! You lied!"

"Sweetie - " I started, but Willis cut me off.

"Gabriel, do not scream at your mother. She doesn't have any choice in this. This is her job, and mine, and we have to do what we're told. Even if we don't like it or we don't want to."

"That's stupid! And it's not fair!" our eight-year-old roared back.

"That's enough, Gabe," Willis said sternly.

"No! I don't want her to go!"

Gabriel stomped off to his room then without another word, the sound of his bedroom door slamming behind him punctuating his words. Willis and I simply stood there, taken aback, while the twins watched the whole scene with their eyes wide. I saw their bottom lips start to shiver and I got down on one knee to hug them again.

"Shh. It's okay. I'll be back before you know it, all right?"

I squeezed them a little harder and shut my eyes tight, willing myself to believe the same. My heart felt like a giant chasm had just ripped open inside of it at the thought of having to leave them again. I tried my best to contain the tears and I did, but it took every last ounce of self-control I had. After a moment Willis took over for me and I went down the hall to follow Gabe.

It was quiet in his room when I entered; all I could hear was the soft sound of muffled sobs against his pillow. My firstborn son was lying facedown on his bed, looking inconsolable, and my heart absolutely shattered.

I went over to the bed and sat down on the side of it, then leaned over to stroke his back, using my other hand to wipe away another tear of my own. "Baby, please don't cry."

"Why?" came the muffled reply. "You don't care. You're leaving us."

"Sweetheart, of course I care. I would never, ever leave you - or your brother or your sister - if I didn't have to." I leaned down a little further to kiss the back of his head. "I love you, son. And I'm so sorry this is hurting you so much. Because it hurts me, too."

The crying finally stopped, but the sniffles remained. "Really?"

"Yes. More than you can imagine."

Slowly he turned around onto his back to face me. "But you're a colonel, Mommy. I thought colonels didn't hurt."

I smiled sadly as I pushed my hand through his short, light brown hair, so much like his dad's. "Well, we do, Gabe. Very much. You know you and Li and Liv and your dad mean everything to me, right? Well, when I leave, you get to stay here with him and your brother and sister. I'm going by myself. So of course it hurts."

"So you don't want to leave us?"

"No, honey. Never."

Gabriel mulled that over for a second before he seemed to accept it and let himself fall into my arms. I hugged my oldest child fiercely, knowing that this was much harder on him than his siblings because he'd already had to see me and Willis leave him so many times in the past. I felt awful for my son, and for myself, but once again we both knew there was nothing to stop it.

"Do you promise to be good for your dad for me while I'm gone?"

"Yesh."

"And you'll watch out for your little siblings, like a good big brother?"

"Yeah."

"And you'll tell them not to be sad if they are?"

"Mmhmm."

I kissed the top of his head this time. "Good. Because I'm going to need you to be strong for me, okay? And I'll try to be strong while I'm gone, too. Do you know why?"

"Why, Mom?"

"Because I'm coming back."


	14. Chapter 13: Healing

**Chapter Thirteen: Healing**

******0815 Hours, July 9, 2558. UNSC Concord Naval Air Base, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Wrap-Up," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

I tried my best to sit still while one of the medics in my regiment, Corpsman Michael Reynolds, did his best to temporarily blind me. At least that's what it seemed like as he had me sitting on the edge of the exam bed in the medical wing on base, flashing his penlight first into one of my eyes and then in the other.

"Well, if I couldn't see before, I definitely can't now," I said to him, blinking away the remnants of bright light as he turned.

Reynolds chuckled while he typed something on his datapad. "It's fine, ma'am. You're clear across the board. Looks like your gunshot wounds from the sniper have healed up nicely, and so's that spot where the bullet grazed your arm. You're not pregnant, and you're healthy and fit. Good to go, Colonel."

"Sounds good." I stood and grabbed my uniform jacket from the empty chair beside us and pulled it on, then started in on the buttons. "But there's a couple things I still wanted to ask you about, Doc."

"Shoot."

Frowning, I said, "Something happened out on Qamar that I didn't tell you about, towards the end of the campaign. I came up from the underground chamber once and got dizzy and lightheaded for a minute, and my heart was going wild. And it hurt pretty bad, too. Is that likely to happen again?"

The medic pulled his attention away from his pad. "It might. I mean, you came _this_ close to getting shot through the heart, ma'am. You might still experience irregularities from time to time. But from what I can tell, you've got no major complications from the hit. That's a good sign."

I nodded, trusting Reynolds' judgment completely. He'd had my back for over six years now, and had seen me through so many impossibly tough scrapes that there was no way I'd ever think twice about his diagnosis. I knew if it weren't for him, I'd be dead a hundred times over by now. "Okay. I've got one more for you. My meds."

"Which one?"

"Both." I took a deep breath. "First, I'm going off my birth control this mission. My husband's not going to be with me so I have no reason to take it, and it's one more thing I won't need to worry about while we're out there."

"All right. Your choice."

"Second...my pills for the nightmares haven't really been doing their job lately. I'm not waking up crying or shaking yet, but the dreams aren't being filtered out anymore." I sighed. "Ever since we got back from Khan, they've been getting worse."

Reynolds bit his lip. "That's not good."

"No."

He folded his arms across his chest and sat back against the small counter behind him. "Well, I think the next logical step would be to up your dosage and see if that fixes the problem. I'll contact Dr. Blake and find out if we can do that before we leave."

"Can he make the change in the next two days?"

The corpsman smiled. "_She_ can, yes. Anything else?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I think that covers it."

"Okay. Your pre-mission eval is complete then, Colonel. I'll see you out on the tarmac at 0600 in a couple days."

As I got up to leave, I couldn't help the sudden smirk that came across my face. "What'll this be now, Doc? Our eighth mission together?"

Reynolds grinned too and started checking off the list on his fingers, glancing up at the ceiling for a moment with his blue eyes that contrasted with his short black hair. "Let's see, ma'am. There was Heath, and Cote D'Azur, and then Lienz, and Buenos Aires, and Quito, New Mombasa and Voi, and then Redwood Falls and Qamar. Even though the last two were connected, you could probably call it an even ten."

I stuck out my hand for him to shake before I left. "Well, then, Doc, here's to hoping this won't be our last."

* * *

I spent the remainder of the morning on base, busy dealing with logistical issues so close to departure, and found it increasingly odd that my second-in-command wasn't in yet. Technically I hadn't given her a time she needed to be here by, but it was already close to 0900 hours and her office sat empty across the corridor. The whole thing seemed curious until I saw Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd striding down the hall, looking more serene than he should have been given our looming takeoff date.

Glancing up from my desk, I shouted into the hall from my open door, "Cal, what on earth's got you so happy today?"

The spook stopped in his tracks and saluted. "Colonel Cooper, ma'am. I didn't realize you were in already. I was told you were getting your medical evaluation done this morning."

"I was, but that ended a while ago so I came here. You?"

"Me, what?"

"Where've you been? And where's my XO?"

Lloyd looked sheepish for a moment before stepping fully into my office. "Oh. Well, maybe it's better if I show you." He walked up and held up his left hand, flashing me his wedding ring. "Brewer and I got hitched last night."

Out of all the twists and turns their relationship had been taking lately, this was the one I'd least expected. I leaned back in my chair and just stared. "Wow. Congratulations."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"How'd you manage that? Last time we talked you said she wasn't too keen on the idea."

He shrugged. "I took your advice and we talked things over. Now that I've been home more, it's been better. And once the news of this deployment broke...we both just thought, 'Why wait?'"

"Fair enough. So where's that new wife of yours?"

"Picking up her daughter - our daughter now, I guess - from her aunt's place. They couldn't watch her today so Dani's bringing Alexis to the child care center on base."

For a second I gave him a look. "But she's eleven."

"Yes, ma'am. They offer programs for the older kids, too."

"Ah. The major will be here soon, then?"

"That's affirmative, ma'am."

"Great. I need her help on a few things." Involuntarily I glanced down at Caleb's ring again. "And I promise we'll try to make this as awkward-free as possible," I teased.

The ONI operative just laughed. "Fair enough, Colonel."

* * *

By the time I got home that evening, I was exhausted. A culmination of two weeks' worth of hard work, training, getting the troops ready, and making sure all our supplies and rosters were shipshape before departure was finally taking its toll. I stepped up slowly to the front door, planning on turning into a vegetable on the sofa with my husband and kids on my penultimate night on Earth. When I unlocked the door, however, I found a very different scene inside.

The house seemed empty and completely devoid of life. Matthew had left over a week ago now on his trip to Mars to visit his parents, and he was due back tomorrow. But the kids could be rowdy even when their young uncle wasn't here; I knew they'd at least be making _some_ kind of noise. I wondered if maybe everyone was just out in the yard and started to head that way until I saw Willis come out of the hallway.

He gave me a small smile when he noticed me, but it looked tense. "Hey, Cooper."

"Hey. Where's the kids?"

"With the babysitter."

"Babysitter?" I asked, perplexed.

"Yeah. I had her take them out for a couple hours." He finally leaned in to kiss me and sighed. "I had to choose today, Natalie."

I kissed him back, then rested my forehead against his. "What did you decide?"

"I told them I wanted to keep trying," he answered, pulling back a bit to look at me. "I've worked too hard all my life to be the best damn pilot I can be to give up now. I'll give the therapy another few months and hope it pans out. If not - " He shrugged. "At least I'll know it wasn't because I quit."

Momentarily overcome with emotion, I took his face in my hands and kissed him harder. "I'm so proud of you, Will. I don't care what anyone else has told us. I know you can still make it."

"Thanks, Coop." He kissed me hard in return, lingering this time. "I have another surprise for you."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. Come with me."

He took my hand and led me into our bathroom, the one closest to our bedroom. As soon as I walked in I saw that the whole place was transformed. There were candles set out throughout the room, producing a calm, soft glow, and red rose petals floating in the bath tub, already filled to the brim with hot water. I turned to face my husband and smirked.

"I'm guessing this is why the kids are gone?"

Willis grinned, too. "Yup." He moved in front of me then and started undoing my jacket. "We've been married eleven years now, Coop. I wasn't going to let you leave without a proper send-off."

And he never had, but this was much more than I'd been expecting. After a long, hard day, it felt perfect.

He finished with my uniform jacket and threw it onto the floor, quickly pulling off his shirt before moving on to mine. He slipped his hands underneath my shirt and slid them up my aching sides while I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling. I soon found myself leaning forward to meet his lips and whispered, "Thank you. For all of this."

Willis's grin morphed into a wicked one as he lifted my T-shirt up and over my head. "I haven't done anything yet, honey. You can thank me after."

I chuckled, so consumed with need I did the rest of the undressing myself, and followed him into the tub once he'd situated himself.

"I love you, Willis," I said to him, sliding my hands over his wet chest grip his shoulders. Willis wrapped his arms around me and leaned up to touch his lips to mine.

"I love you, too, Natalie."

* * *

Later we made love a second time on the bed before we were finally sated. No longer clean but warm and naked beneath the sheets, we lay there quietly together in contentment, simply enjoying the moment. When I thought of how long it might be before I'd see him again once I left, I knew I needed to take in as much of this as I could to get through the months ahead.

"I'm going to miss you so much," I said to him softly.

Willis squeezed me tighter against him. "Me, too, Coop. But we've had to do this before in the past. We'll get through it again."

"I know. It's going to be a lot harder this time, though."

"No argument there. But if you're not even allowed to tell your own Marines where you're going...you said yourself it's something big." He smiled down at me. "Natalie Cooper's going to save the world."

I snorted, reveling in the feel of his bare chest under my cheek. "I don't know about that. Guess we'll just have to see what the situation's really like when we get there."


	15. Chapter 14: Ready, Set, Lift Off

**Chapter Fourteen: Ready, Set, Lift Off**

**********0552 Hours, July 11, 2558. UNSC Concord Naval Air Base, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Departure," Planet Earth. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

"Wow. There's a ton of people here."

I nodded as I stood next to Willis, in uniform like me, and secured my duffel bag behind my back with the straps. Meanwhile I held hands with the twins on either side of me, while Gabriel was beside his dad and Matthew brought up the rear. It looked to be a busy day out on the tarmac, just like my husband said - pretty routine for a deployment that involved over fifteen hundred Marines.

My Marines. And I was looking for a few of them in particular right now, somewhere in the huge throng of uniformed personnel and their families.

Thankfully I spotted my XO fairly quickly because of the red hair - exactly how I used to find my best friend Dean Lewis in the countless dive bars and O-Clubs we used to hit as young junior officers together. The major was standing next to her daughter, whom I recognized because she was tall and had long red hair like her mother's; the only difference was Brewer had her own hair cut short in a pixie cut. And beside the two of them was Alexis's new stepfather, Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd. He had his hands on her shoulders and from the way she looked up at him, I could tell the pair already had a firm bond and that the little girl was going to miss him a lot while he and Brewer were gone.

"Poor kid," I said aloud. "She's just gotten a good father figure in her life and now both her parents are leaving."

Willis cocked an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"That girl over there, with the red hair? She's my XO's daughter."

"Oh." He let out a sigh. "Well, there's a lot of that going around."

I glanced down at my own kids and felt a pang of regret. I still didn't want to leave them, or their dad, but I knew I had to and it was killing me inside. At least this time they'd have one of their parents home with them - and I wouldn't have to worry about Willis's safety so much since he wasn't coming with me. Those were my only consolations as I steeled myself for when the time came to say goodbye.

There were still some things I needed to get done before then, though. I turned to Willis and said, "You got the kids for a minute? I need to go talk to Brewer and make sure all our battalions are good to go."

My husband nodded. "Yeah, sure. We'll be waiting here for you, Coop."

"Okay." I relinquished my hold of the twins and had them stand next to their father, brother, and uncle, reminding them not to stray too far. Then I leaned in to give Willis a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be right back."

Since there were hundreds of military families seeing their loved ones off this morning, public displays of affection were a bit more relaxed. I saw evidence of it all around with hugs and kisses and tearful goodbyes, though none of it was over-the-top and it remained tasteful. Had I seen anything out of the ordinary I would've had to issue a verbal reprimand, but my troops were well-disciplined and required little micromanaging. I got over to where Brewer stood with her new family without incident, and both she and Lloyd gave me a crisp salute.

"At ease," I said, returning it. "Cal, if I could borrow your wife for a second, we've got some stuff we need to take care of before we leave."

"Yes, ma'am," the spook said with a small grin, pulling Alexis closer to him. "She's all yours."

As the major and I turned to go, I gave her shy daughter a smile and said, "I'll bring your mom right back, okay? Promise."

Major Brewer didn't speak until we were out of earshot. "Well, Colonel, just by getting a quick glance at this place I'd say we've got everybody. Looks like the mass exodus it should be out here."

I chuckled. "Very true. But you know protocol; the Corps' nothing without it."

"Where are we meeting Harris and...who's the replacement? Delany?"

"Delaney," I corrected. "And Harris is right over there." Before we reached him, I stopped and held out my hand. "And hey, before I forget, congrats on the nuptials. I already congratulated Cal but I think we were in too deep with the logistics by the time you came in to say it to you, too. Am I going to have to start calling you Lloyd now?"

My XO smiled at me as she shook my hand. "No, ma'am. And thanks. I've had my last name for thirty-two years so I don't plan on changing it now. I love Caleb but I wasn't ready to give it up, and it's my daughter's last name too so I wanted ours to still match. Thankfully Cal was understanding."

"Yeah, so was Will. We weren't much more than kids when we got married, but I came from a big family so it was important to me to stay a part of that somehow." I glanced down at my boots for a moment. "We were about to get thrown into the middle of the Human-Covenant War so we did the same thing you and Cal did. Got us a witness and went in front of the judge at city hall and just got it done real quick before we shipped out. Best decision of my life."

Brewer's smile widened as she unconsciously looked back at her new husband. "Yes, ma'am. I'll admit it took me a little extra time to get on board with the idea because of Alexis, but when I see those two together..." She shrugged. "Makes me feel like it was meant to be."

I smiled back. "When you know, you know, right? Now let's go talk to Harris."

* * *

According to my former XO, the 8th Engineers were all present and accounted for, something I was glad to hear about my former battalion. I'd been with them for four years before getting bumped up to lieutenant colonel and my current regimental command, and I still enjoyed seeing them flourish. Major Brewer and I walked up to Major Delaney next to make sure the 904th Infantry, previously commanded by my late best friend Oliver Hayden, was squared away.

Major Justin Delaney saluted me as I approached, nodding at Brewer in acknowledgment when I gave him the command to relax. He looked about as bleary-eyed as my kids at the early morning hour, not used to getting up before dawn at the War College. Again I felt bad for temporarily putting his career on hold, but we'd needed a replacement at the last minute and the only person qualified that I could think of had been him. I stuck out my hand and he took it.

"Good to see you here, Major," I said to him. "I feel a lot better knowing we have a capable commander at the helm in Major Mullen's absence."

Delaney chuckled and ran a hand over his short, curly hair. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll do what I can. Hell, maybe this'll even bag me some points at the College for when we get back. More battlefield experience."

I nodded solemnly. "Yep. Sounds like we're going to get a lot this mission. I hope you're ready for it."

"Ready as I'll ever be, Colonel. I'm just glad I'm going in with you."

"Thanks. But you know this'll be different than all those sims and tests they made us run."

"Yes, ma'am." He pointed behind him to what looked to be his wife and a double stroller holding two young babies. "I trust you'll get me back home safe to my three girls."

"That's the plan." I glanced over at Brewer and she gave a small tilt of her head. "We're all leaving behind family today, Justin, so at least we can commiserate."

His face momentarily brightened. "See? Just like I said that day, ma'am."

"Yeah. Never thought it'd be like this, though. I'm sorry you had to put your studies on hold."

"No, ma'am. I'm glad to be going. Get to see your strategies in action so I might learn a thing or two. I'm looking forward to it."

I found myself smiling after a second, too. "If nothing else it'll make everything we've gone through so far at the College seem like a walk in the park. Good luck, Major."

"You, too, ma'am. See you on the big boat."

* * *

Major Brewer and I spent the remainder of the time triple-checking the supplies and rosters. Once we had our reports from the other two battalion commanders, however, there was nothing more we could do to stall the inevitable. It was go time, whether we wanted it to be or not. Enlisted Marines and the junior officers were already waving goodbye to their families as they marched toward the waiting air wing of Pelicans getting ready to take them up to our transport ship, the _Onward Journey_. Quirky for a ship name, but then again most in the UNSC fleet were - and either way I absolutely hated being aboard one.

Today I knew I'd hate it even more because of what I was leaving behind. I tried my best not to get too emotional in front of my troops, but it was hard. I'd only left my kids on my last deployment recently, and Willis I'd never really left at all. Taking off without all four of them hurt in a way I'd imagined it would, but somehow still made my heart ache ten times worse now that it was the real thing.

"Hey, Will," I said to him, hugging him tightly and cupping the back of his head with my hand as I reached up to kiss him. "Take good care of our babies for us, okay?"

Willis kissed me in return and hugged me back hard. "Of course, Cooper. Stay safe out there. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He kissed me a second time, more passionate and deeper than the first, and I didn't want to let go. I eventually did though, thanks in part to the protestations coming from Liam and Olivia which were led by Matt. I gave him a look and then bent down to my twins next.

I had the two of them huddle around me and I whispered to them, "Hey, you guys take good care of your dad while I'm gone, all right? He's going to need you to be strong, and so will I. I love you both very much."

Liam and Olivia both hugged me hard as well, and I could see tears in their little eyes when I reluctantly pulled back. By now I could feel my own forming behind my eyes, but I still had one more to account for. Gabriel.

"My big boy," I said as I hugged him. "After your dad you're the next man of the house now, you know. Watch out for your little brother and sister, and make sure you help your dad out with them when he needs you, okay? I love you, son."

"I love you, too, Mom," Gabe replied, his response muffled as he buried his face in my shoulder. "Please come back."

"I will," I answered firmly. "For all of you."

After that I couldn't take the pain anymore and had to pull away before I lost it. I waited for Matthew to say his goodbyes to Willis and the kids, and then together we walked off towards the Pelicans along with the rest of the unit, silent and sad.


	16. Chapter 15: Marked for Dead

**Chapter Fifteen: Marked for Dead**

******Undetermined Shipboard Time, July 15, 2558. Onboard UNSC Transport Ship ****__****Onward Journey********, En Route to Requiem. "The Final Pickup," Inner Colonies. Prologue to the War of Tomorrow**

The last few days of the voyage had been miserable, mostly due to the fact that I was still reeling from having to leave my family behind on Earth. Things got a little better every day though, and busier, which helped ease the hurt by a tiny fraction and kept my mind occupied on other things.

Presently I was sitting at my desk in my quarters, going through every type of conceivable document and data packet on the mission as well as the regiment. After a while I knew I was going to send myself into a frenzy over this stuff so I resolved to go hit the gym aboard ship for some change of scenery if nothing else. That was until my stomach growled, and I realized I needed to refuel first.

Releasing a sigh, I switched off my datapad and shoved it back into the pants of my fatigues, then pulled on my uniform jacket and stepped out into the corridor. Once out of the senior officers' berthing area I passed a number of sailors and a couple of Marines, all of which saluted me as I went by. I returned the gestures until I'd made my way to the elevator, and took it up a few decks to the mess.

There I went through the line, selected my grub from the food dispensers, and chose a seat at the far end of the chow hall, where I could see almost everything that was going on. Although I could scarcely admit it to myself, I was feeling a little alone now that Hayden had been killed on our last mission and Willis wasn't with me. Matthew was busy making friends amongst his new squad, as he should be, Cal had Brewer, and Reynolds spent the majority of his time down in the medbay. Add to that the fact that it wasn't exactly a meal time - my watch said it was well past 1500 hours shipboard time - and it meant that even the mess, usually loaded with people, was a bit empty at the moment. Being a Marine though I took it in stride and just ate.

Halfway through my sandwich I noticed a shadow looming over me. I glanced up and started when I saw it was my husband's former wingmate and ex-best friend, Captain Brandon Heat - the source of all of Willis's flying woes.

While Willis had been left behind on this mission, his air wing hadn't, so I shouldn't have been surprised by Heat's presence. It'd been a while since we'd spoken, however.

"Hey, Colonel," he said as he sat across from me. "Long time no see."

"Yep. To what do I owe the pleasure, Heat?"

The captain shrugged. "I don't know. You were looking kind of lonely and I can't let a lovely lady eat on her own."

I snorted and shoved a big bite of my meal in my face. "If you're fishing for information on Willis, you're going to have to do better than that."

Heat made a face. "Oh, come on, Cooper. Throw me a bone."

"I will, but only because you two were wingmates before you even had your wings." I gave him a look. "In case you're wondering, not everything is good in paradise."

"You two fighting about me again?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, actually, and I didn't mean the state of our relationship. I meant his road to recovery to get back on a bird. It might not happen."

Captain Heat seemed genuinely astonished. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was. It would make my life and his a lot easier. But I'm not. He got served with papers a few weeks ago. Told him he could keep trying the therapy, change jobs, or jump ship. Thankfully he chose the former, but not before he gave it a lot of thought."

"Gave what a lot of thought?"

"Leaving the Corps."

Heat eased up and didn't say anything for a while, taking that in. "He was going to leave because of me?"

"Because he can't fly. He's really told you none of this?"

"Nope. I guess I don't rate that after I shot him out of the sky. He hasn't spoken a word to me since he ripped me a new one on Khan over it." He met my gaze. "Honestly, Natalie, it was an accident. I don't know how many more times I have to say I'm sorry about it, or how bad I feel about it, or anything else that I can do to change it. Hell, it kills me that we're out here right now without him. I know it does you, too, and I'm sorry for that. I know it's my fault. But I can't change what happened, and sometimes his stubbornness...it gets to me."

"Well, don't let it. You're one of our oldest friends, Brandon, and certainly his. And no matter what, Will's always had a lot of fight in him. I believe he can still make it past this and get better. And when he does, you can bet your ass he'll want you to be the one watching his six again."

The captain still didn't look too convinced, but he gave a small heave of his shoulders. "Maybe. I guess we'll find out when we get home."

I'd nearly finished my meal by then and made a move to toss the remainder in the trash when I felt the ship lurch to a stop. My heart went instantly to my gut and started pounding hard. Meanwhile, Heat remained calmly seated in front of me...laughing his ass off.

After I regained my composure, and loosened my death-grip on the edge of the table, I glared at him. "Ha ha. I'm afraid of being on a ship. Keep it going."

"I just think it's hilarious that you married a pilot but piss your pants anytime you're in an aircraft."

"Yup. Haven't heard that one before." A corner of my lips twitched. "It's not like you and Will didn't used to howl over it when we were at the Academy over _eleven years ago_."

"No, ma'am," Captain Heat said, all grins now. "Never."

I gestured vaguely at the ship. "So any idea what the hell that was about?"

"You didn't hear the announcement over the intercom an hour ago? We're stopping at a listening station out here to pick up 'an important package'."

"Huh?"

"That's what I said." He lifted his head in the direction of one of the entrance hatches to the mess. "Maybe he can tell you more."

I turned and saw a confident-looking Lieutenant Lloyd walking in with Major Dani Brewer. I almost wasn't able to stifle my laugh. If they were anything like Willis and I had been as newlyweds, this was likely the first time today that they'd stepped out of their shared quarters aboard ship...and it was late afternoon.

"What's so funny?" Brandon asked me.

I waved a dismissive hand at him. "Nothing, Heat. You get back to me once you finally decide to tie the knot and you'll get it."

"Get what?"

At that I stood. "It's been nice catching up, but I'd really like to know why the boat made my stomach drop. I'll see you later."

I left him sitting there at the table and went to intercept the happy couple as they emerged from the line with their trays. I felt bad interrupting, but I was curious to find out what was going on.

"Cal, Dani," I said to them.

They nodded in return. "Ma'am."

"I need to speak to the lieutenant for a minute."

My XO gave a slight nod of her head and went off to seat herself, while the spook came with me to another table. I didn't say anything until we'd sat down across from each other.

"Do you know what we're stopping for? I gathered I missed out on the message earlier, but I heard it didn't really say what was happening anyway."

"Yes, ma'am. Clearance on this is only granted to the top, although that might not mean much once they're aboard. I can't even tell Dani about it yet."

"Once who's aboard?" I asked.

Unperturbed, the ONI operative dug into his meal. "Our 'important package' is another spook. We're taking him and his team with us to Requiem. They're currently stationed out here so the brass decided we'd give them a lift." He smiled a little in self-deprication. "Apparently one intel officer wasn't enough for something this big."

"Shit. And you said 'he'? I guess that means it's not Commander Hayden." Lieutenant Commander Courtney Hayden, my late best friend's widow, had accompanied us for the latter part of our mission on Khan, providing Caleb and I with intel on the rebels' movements from the mainland while we were busy fighting the Prometheans and Storm out on Qamar Island. I thought if we were getting another spook, it'd be her.

He shook his head. "No, ma'am. We'll get to meet him soon enough, though. If the ship's stopped that means we're picking them up right now."

I nodded. "All right. Thanks. Go eat with your wife, Cal. We'll go see what the fuss is about once everyone's on board."

* * *

It took the better part of thirty minutes for the _Onward Journey_ to start moving again. That made me think it hadn't just been a single spook and his team that we'd picked up; we'd probably gotten some supplies as well. Regardless, I wanted to meet the newcomer, mostly because I knew I'd be working with him from now on along with the lieutenant.

Lloyd went with me to the portside hangar bay a deck below us, where he'd been told the landing had occurred. I was eager to meet his newly arrived colleague when I saw him coming down the hall and my breath caught.

My mind was instantly overrun with a flood of memory, and none of it good. I had to work to keep the _no, no, no_ racing in my head from escaping me, and when our eyes met, I suddenly felt like prey all over again.

The man walking along the corridor in black ONI fatigues was one I thought I'd never see again in my life. He was dead. I'd been sure of it. So fucking sure. And yet here he was, standing before us in the flesh, his rich brown hair cut short and his matching eyes giving off the appearance of a charming, stand-up guy. But he wasn't, not in the least. I knew that first-hand from the way his fist used to feel when I'd been a stupid young teenager who thought she was in love with a violent prick.

"Ethan," I croaked.


	17. Chapter 16: Zapped

**Chapter Sixteen: Zapped**

For a moment it was as if the last fourteen years hadn't even happened. In an instant I was back to being a scared girl - and all of it was because of the man standing in front of me, who simply smiled at the fact that I remembered his name. Like I could forget.

"Natalie Cooper," he said, his voice carrying an undercurrent of warmth I used to remember from a long time ago - a time before the abuse had started. Back when I'd imagined our relationship was like a wondrous fairy tale and things were going to end happily between us...not with me in the hospital. "I don't even want to think how long it's been since I've seen you."

Still caught up in the fact that he was supposed to be very, very dead, I was too startled to think of anything to say. This was my chance to speak my mind, to bury him with words of anger and hate at what he'd done to me, but I'd spent too many years rebuilding from all of that - pushing it down into the depths of my brain and overcoming it - that I found the speech wouldn't come. Now that he was standing here, no sound came out.

Ethan took the lapse in stride and looked to the other spook instead. "And you're Lloyd, right?"

"Yes, sir," Caleb replied, noting Ethan's rank insignia of a lieutenant commander on his lapel.

Ethan smirked. "Heard you just got married to a superior officer. Nice. I guess that means you're over your mama drama."

"Excuse me?"

"That's 'Excuse me, sir,'" Ethan corrected. "I'm a lieutenant commander." He looked Lloyd in the eyes. "Your mother was a spook, too, wasn't she? I'm told that's why you joined. Because Major Sierra Lloyd was killed by the Covenant when you were four months old, in service to our great Colonies, and you were looking to give her sacrifice some sort of tribute." He shook his head. "So sad. Bet your sister and your daddy Helljumper didn't take her death well at all, either."

Beside me, I could almost sense Lieutenant Lloyd tensing up. I was still too astonished to even move.

All Caleb replied, however, was a terse, "You've done your homework, sir."

"Of course I have. I'm a spook," Ethan answered smugly. "Something you should have done as well if you weren't...too busy basking in your post-wedding bliss." He turned his attention to me again. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I need to speak to the lieutenant colonel privately."

"Like hell," I blurted, somehow finding my voice at the right moment. I stepped forward and said firmly, "_I_ mind, and that's enough. In case you haven't been too observant, I outrank you. You can address me as 'Colonel' or 'ma'am' but you don't get to get away with the familiar with me."

"I used to, once."

"That died a long time ago. You made sure of that."

Ethan seemed like he couldn't be less bothered and flicked his gaze back to Lloyd. "Leave us, Lieutenant."

I almost told him not to, but then I realized that would put my friend in the middle of something I didn't want him to be involved with. This was my demon to exorcise and I'd never be fully at peace if I didn't do it on my own. I gave Caleb a slight nod and he reluctantly walked away.

"Where's the rest of your team, Ethan?"

"Grabbing our supplies. We have a few minutes to talk alone, if you want."

I snorted. "What the hell is there to talk about? I don't want to know shit about you or where you've been or what you've been up to the last dozen years - and I certainly don't want you prying into my life. The only damn thing I want to know is how you're not fucking dead."

He chuckled. "Dead? Who told you that?"

"I saw it. I _saw_ your body. So did Willis. I fucking shot you."

This time he laughed out loud, a hearty belly laugh that sent rage flooding through me all over again. "And you're sure this wasn't some kind of revenge fantasy of yours?"

I shook my head angrily. "I had your dogtags, Ethan. They were in my hands. 'Lieutenant Ackerson, Ethan James'. I pulled them from a Flood form in Austria that was a dead ringer for you. Ring a bell?"

"Nah. Refresh my memory." He gave me a look. "Although I do object to having my likeness compared to a Flood form. I remember you mentioning several times while we were going out in high school that I was '_hot_'."

I felt my cheeks flush inexplicably and that made the anger even more potent. "Careful, Ethan. I'm not the same person you remember. I've changed."

"So have I. And I'm going to prove it to you."

I scoffed. "How? By acting like a complete asshole just now with Cal? If anything it reminds me what a vile piece of shit you are. I can't believe the Navy took you in after what you did to me, let alone made you an officer."

Ethan's sly smirk returned. "Friends in high places, Cooper. But then you know that."

"Your _pathetic_ excuse of a father can't save you from everything, you stupid - "

"You're right."

His tone changed abruptly and he suddenly sounded so sincere I stopped mid-rant.

"What?"

"I said you're right. He can't. Which is why I made changes to myself on my own. Fourteen years is a long time, Natalie. What makes you think I haven't changed just as much as you?"

Rather than get flustered, I stood taller and marched right up to him like I never would have dreamed of doing in the past and stared him down. "Don't even _try_ to pull this bullshit on me. You will _never_ convince me that you're anything but what you've always been - a manipulative, abusive son of a bitch who is good at twisting people and things and emotions every which way until they suit your purpose. I'm not getting caught up in it again. Do you know why?"

"Enlighten me," he said in a bored tone.

"Because the last time I did I ended up unconscious on your living room floor and woke up in the _hospital_ with bruises and broken bones that _you gave me_, you worthless shit."

I didn't realize it in the middle of my speech, but I was shaking by the time it was over. There was nothing I could do to cover it up, but I found that was just as well. Just saying these things out loud to him after all these years felt more freeing than all the burying of memories deep down inside me would ever do.

Ethan noticed my change in demeanor and started to speak, but I cut him off with a sharp glare.

"I'm not finished yet," I said. "This is not happening like you think it is. This is not time for you to find redemption, or screw me over again, or do whatever it is you're trying to do here. I want no part of it. From now on, everything goes through my XO. You need to talk to someone in charge about the mission, you talk to her. You don't see me, you don't _speak_ to me. At all. I don't want you anywhere near me, do you understand? Ever again."

Expecting another smug comeback, I was surprised when all I heard was a resigned, "Yes, ma'am."

I didn't give him another second of my time. I turned and left after that, wanting nothing more than to never see his face again.

* * *

Storming off to my quarters was what I wanted to do, but it didn't exactly work out that way. I ran into Caleb further down the corridor and he stopped me, looking pained.

"Cal, what is it?" I asked him. "Is it what he said about your mom?"

The spook waved my question away. "No, ma'am. I've dealt with his kind before, growing up. Kids can be cruel and I used to get teased about not having a mom a lot when I was little."

"Shit. I'm sorry."

Lloyd shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'm sorry. For not doing my job." He folded his arms across his chest and stared at his boots. "He was right. I should have done my homework on him, too. But I didn't, and now he's here. With you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Finally the lieutenant glanced back up. "He's the one who used to hit you, isn't he?"

I'm not sure why the question surprised me but it did. I'd always known Caleb was privy to every little thing about my life simply by being in ONI; I didn't know why I'd assumed he wouldn't know about this particular part of my history, too.

"Dammit. I shouldn't have told you I knew." Lieutenant Lloyd ran a hand over his dark brown hair. "I'm sorry I brought it up. But why would the brass put the two of you together again, knowing your history?"

I snorted. "That's an easy one. His father did this. He's the only one with that kind of pull. Probably figures a mission like this will make his son's career."

Cal shook his head. "That's not possible, ma'am. The lieutenant commander's father died during the Human-Covenant War, back in 2552. Looks like someone else has it out for you, Colonel."

Although yet another surprising thing I'd learned today, it was good to hear Ethan's dad had finally kicked the bucket. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy...besides Ethan himself, of course. Now I understood what Ethan had meant about not being able to rely on his father anymore to get him out of his predicaments.

But that made a larger question enter the forefront - who in HighCom _had_ okayed this, knowing the circumstances?

It was too much for me to take in at once. I resolved not to think about it anymore for the rest of the damn day. All of this had been way too weird.

"Well, I think I'm going to retreat on this one," I said to Cal. "I'm heading back to my quarters and I'll continue reviewing those data packets you sent me. You go see Brewer. I'm sure she's missing you already."

* * *

When I got to my quarters after a long trek back, I dropped down onto my bunk for a moment and just lay there, eyes closed, and wished the last several minutes would just auto-delete from my head. They didn't, though, so I went after the next best thing.

I got up and walked over to my closet, where my duffel bag and some personal items were stored. I pulled out my pill bottle for the nightmares - now with a higher dosage - and set it on my desk to take in the morning. Behind my bag, I pulled out the half-empty bottle of brandy Javier Laraza had given me on Khan...the one that I'd smuggled onto the ship when I'd boarded, for when times got tough.

I figured seeing my dead ex-boyfriend sure as hell qualified.

After pouring myself four fingers of the amber liquid - three just wouldn't do it for a day like today - I shot it all down in one quick swill. It was only as the alcohol burned down my throat that a thought came to mind: Ethan hadn't told me how he'd managed to survive.


	18. Chapter 17: A Separate Plane 1

Author's Note: This'll be the last update for a couple of weeks or so. I'm off to Italy next week, and since my home internet decided to stop working last year, I'll have to find other means to get chapters online while I'm there. So it probably won't happen for a bit. Sorry for the delay, but know that I'll do my very best to get Part Two up soon. :)

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: A Separate Plane, Part One**

**1114 Hours, July 20, 2558. Forerunner Shield World Surface, Requiem****. "The Landing," Epoloch System. Day One of the War of Tomorrow**

The first thing I noticed about the place when we finally made it planetside was the arid vista surrounding us. I'd fought in deserts before, most notably the Reatan Desert on Heath a year prior to the War's end, but this one was different. Rather than vast swaths of sand and the occasional rock formation in the distance, this part of Requiem boasted high cliffs and harsh, jagged terrain all around. There was also more vegetation here, surprisingly; green cactus-like plants and others made the scenery feel less monotonous than Heath had. The heat was still a prominent feature, though, one I tried my best to combat from the start by rolling up the sleeves of my battledress jacket as soon as I touched dirt.

"Well, ma'am," my aide, Staff Sergeant Derek Lynch, said beside me. "We wanted a change from the island and city and forests on Khan, we sure got it."

"Yup." I pushed my sunglasses higher up on the bridge of my nose, gripping my helmet in one hand with my battle rifle still slung behind my back while we distanced ourselves from the Pelican. I took the time we walked to continue surveying the area. "I need to get in touch with command out here, Staff. Make sure Major Brewer knows I'm going to be gone for a while, and then let's get moving."

"Yes, ma'am."

The trip to the Forerunner shield world hadn't lasted nearly as long as I'd thought it would, thanks to the portal Lieutenant Lloyd had told me and Brewer about back on Earth. Where it had taken us over three weeks to get to Khan in one piece last November, it'd taken about half that time to make it here. Via the portal it had been a straight shot in, which had significantly reduced our flying time - and, in turn, made me happy to have my boots on solid ground again. After a moment Lynch gave me a slight nod of his head, and I motioned for my security team to begin the march.

Walking along at the center of the formation for protection, I found myself gawking at the sheer heights and drops of the rocky desert. This place was like a sniper's playground. And while navigable, the terrain obviously made it difficult to find suitable approaches for ground vehicles - especially tanks - and would make maintaining the equipment even harder. We'd faced a lot of the same hang-ups on Heath, and I had no doubt we'd be repeating some things now as well.

After a while I turned back to Staff Sergeant Lynch. "So where's the outpost?"

He pointed ahead. "Just on the other side of that rock face, Colonel. We should be able to see it when we round the corner."

_I hope not,_ I thought to myself. _With an open desert like this, it doesn't pay to be too inviting._

Still, I opened a general COM freq from my earpiece as we marched along to ensure we weren't shot at by friendlies on sight. "Attention UNSC personnel at Outpost Xavier. This is Lieutenant Colonel Natalie Cooper. I'm on approach with a personal detail, anyone copy?"

The static in the line was overwhelming until I finally made out a voice, female. "Copy, ma'am. Please confirm identity."

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper, Natalie McKenzie. UNSC Service Number 38221-50486-NC."

"Identity confirmed. We'll have your six as you arrive, Colonel."

The COM went dead then and I thought that that was a small consolation. We'd been warned before coming here that things on Requiem were in dire straights - hopefully, we'd be able to do some good work here to get it back up to shipshape.

* * *

Staff Sergeant Lynch and one of his fireteams entered the outpost ahead of me, making sure it was all clear before I went inside. I didn't have many expectations based on what I'd been told of the place, but what I saw laid out in front of us was even more disheartening. The outer perimeter was a complete mess, chock full of blast craters and sections where the wall, for lack of a better word, had been blown out and lined with pockmarks from enemy fighters. Here that seemed to include both the Prometheans and Storm, from what I could tell. I knew I'd get a full brief from the officer in charge shortly so I could ask.

All in all, there was a lot of work to be done at Outpost Xavier.

"Doesn't look like the best place to be, ma'am," Lynch said beside me. I followed his gaze to a young Marine in filthy fatigues crouched by the wall, obviously tired and haggard with something approaching a beard as he manned the lines. All I could do was shake my head.

"Yeah. Looks like they just lost all faith and sense of purpose. I wonder who's in charge of discipline here. They're not doing a very good job."

The staff sergeant gave me a head's up. "I think we're about to find out."

A female senior non-com jogged up to us then, looking equally devoid of hygiene and wearing an expression of utter exhaustion from lack of sleep. Still, she did her best to look prepared for us, standing at straight attention and saluting me as she came up.

"Colonel Cooper, ma'am. I'm Gunnery Sergeant Angela Benson. Welcome to Xavier."

I returned the gesture and glanced around again. "Gunny. I was hoping you'd be able to take us to whoever's in charge out here. I've found a few bones to pick with them already."

Gunny Benson nodded. "Yes, ma'am. That'll be the skipper. Over this way."

My eyebrows raised at hearing the word "skipper", but I supposed that I shouldn't have been too surprised considering what I'd observed out here so far. I followed the gunnery sergeant through the outpost to the inner quad, filled mostly with a series of large tents, and was prompted to enter the biggest one. Standing there over a projected holo map from a datapad was a Marine a little older than your typical captain, maybe a few years my senior. He turned when he heard us walk in and immediately saluted.

"Ma'am. I trust Gunny Benson got you here safe."

"So far so good, Captain," I replied. "But maybe you want to tell me why this place looks so piss-poor right now?"

The captain released a sigh. "There's that." He gestured vaguely to the map, full of red zones that I assumed were controlled by the enemy with one green dot in the middle - Outpost Xavier. "I'm Captain Tanner Diaz, Colonel. And as of last night, I'm also the outpost commander. Well...was, now that you've shown up."

I let out a low whistle. "How'd you manage that?"

"The usual, ma'am. Enemies by the hundreds attacking an outpost originally outfitted for only three companies. Now we're down to only two platoons and fighting tooth and nail to keep what's left of this little row of shacks in one piece." He shook his head, full of black hair shaved a few centimeters from his scalp. "It's been hell."

"Sounds like it. I take it your previous commander wasn't too used to dealing with something like this."

Captain Diaz shook his head vigorously. "No, ma'am. We've been floundering since he - " He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked at me. "Apologies, Colonel. I didn't mean to - "

"No, go ahead, Captain. Speak freely. I want to know how you guys ended up in such bad shape. Someone in HighCom needs to know about this."

He stared at me for another minute, quietly assessing, before nodding and going on. "All right. Our CO was another lieutenant colonel, Vincent Magnese. Didn't know his head from his asshole, if you'll excuse the candor. Somebody had a grudge against him because I hear he had a cushy desk job before this assignment, and was one of the only lucky bastards to escape much combat during the War. Obviously bad news for him and for us.

"He got killed real quick on day six. After that, it fell to Major Rosa - Hillary Rosa." The captain swallowed hard and I got the distinct sense that the two had become more than comrades out here. He took a deep breath and continued. "She did her best, but there just aren't that many of us left. Last night the Storm attacked again and she was shot through the neck. Bled a helluva lot. She's in intensive care in the medtent right now fighting for her damn life. She's not expected to make it."

I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Diaz nodded again, silently this time. It was another moment before he spoke again. "I was her XO so I took over the Marines who remained when she went down. But as you can tell, we're not really much of an outfit anymore."

"I guess that explains why we're here, then," I said softly. Running a hand through my put-up hair, I added, "Now you won't have to worry about not having the personnel or the gear to fight off the enemy assaults, Diaz. We're fifteen hundred strong and with your help, we'll get this outpost up and running again. I just need to know what we're up against."

At that Captain Diaz snorted. "You mean what we _aren't_ up against? We've had so much shit thrown at us the past several weeks I've lost count of how often we're hit by something."

"I noticed the scorch marks and craters on the wall outside. You're seeing a lot of action from both factions, aren't you?"

"Affirmative, ma'am."

I exchanged a glance with Staff Sergeant Lynch. "Then I'll take my security detail and you can show me around. I want to know what this structure's weaknesses are - besides the obvious - so we can start patching things up _today_. This needs to be a ton better by nightfall. I don't want us to keep losing Marines by the handful when we've just gotten here."

Diaz seemed relieved that he was no longer the one in charge. "No, ma'am. Sounds like a plan."

I gestured towards the tent entrance. "Lead the way."

The captain was more than willing to oblige, but the shield world's other inhabitants weren't. We'd just made it back to the outer wall when the sound of gunfire erupted on our flank.

Captain Diaz turned to me with wide dark brown eyes. "That's third squad from second platoon," he said, listening in on a COM frequency I hadn't picked up yet. "There's been a breach."

Pulling my battle rifle off my back, I rapidly cocked the weapon and held it across my middle, barrel facing the ground. I left my helmet sitting on a rock in the meantime. "Let's go plug that hole."

"You're coming with me?" For a moment he gave me an incredulous look. "With respect, Colonel, wouldn't you rather wait in the command tent? It's a lot safer."

"Probably. But I didn't travel all this way to sit on my laurels. _Move_ it."


	19. Chapter 18: A Separate Plane 2

Author's Note: Managed to get a bonus chapter up before I leave. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: A Separate Plane, Part Two**

My security detail and I sprinted fast behind Captain Diaz towards the fighting. It was only when we reached the far edge of the perimeter that I was able to see what all the scrambling was about - the Prometheans were rushing the outer wall.

"Shit," I muttered, bringing my battle rifle to bear as I stood and firing off a quick burst at one of the Watchers in the distance. It'd already been sparking from the gunfire, and those few extra bullets did it in. One less protective little bastard to worry about. I lowered my weapon then and turned to face Diaz. "Captain, we need to get your Marines organized so they can provide a solid defense. They're not going to survive the fight if they're scattered everywhere."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll get on it."

"No. You stay here with your men. Encourage their efforts and keep 'em going. I'll handle the rest."

He nodded curtly before gripping his assault rifle tight and dropping down behind the wall with a squad. For now, until the enemy got closer, all they could really do was keep the Crawlers at bay. As for long-distance coverage, I had an idea. I keyed the COM through my earpiece to the whole outpost.

"Marines of Xavier, this is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper! If you're a sharpshooter or have been trained to do so, meet at this location _now_. The outpost is under attack!"

Next I switched the filter to the men and women close by. "We need an MG set up on the right corner! Those Crawlers are coming in fast and there's not too many of us, so we need all the firepower we can get. Go!"

Slowly, the tired and dirty Marines of Outpost Xavier got into motion - and not just mechanically, but moving with some gusto. They had clear-cut instructions on what to do now, not just something as simple and general as manning their post or squeezing off a round at the enemy. Sometimes, that was all it took to get the blood flowing after weeks and weeks of getting hammered and taking it.

Finally I turned back to the skirmish myself, hunkering down beside Staff Sergeant Lynch behind the low wall and aiming down the sights at the next group of Watchers. I realized then that we needed to start thinning out the number of Knights on approach as well, and for that I fired off one last burst at a sentinel and reached for my web belt.

"Frag out!" I shouted, priming the grenade in my hand before standing tall and throwing it out in an arch. It flew above the squad of Marines below and into the fast-incoming group of Knights and their hovering security bots, bursting almost as soon as it hit the rocky ground. A Watcher and a Knight vanished into sparking metal parts and an imploding flash of orange light, while another nearby Knight made a sound that closely resembled a wail at having been hit. Before it could do much damage I quickly pulled up my rifle again and squeezed the trigger, sending a trio of bursts in its direction to finally finish it off. Three more down.

"Keep up the fire, Marines!" I yelled, moving my scope to the next target. "Get into position and let's fight them off! We can stop them!"

The men and women around me increased their tempo, firing shot after shot after shot, but there were many Prometheans charging the lines and too few of us. Knights were starting to teleport in closer and brandishing their purple blades, seemingly made of light but I knew from experience that they were as real and solid as any sword - and just as deadly. While a fireteam of Marines on my flank finally started setting up a fifty cal to help, I yelled out, "Watch the blades! Tag those bastards before they get close!"

Pulses of orange light filled the area, hitting the low wall right in front of us now and forcing most of us to duck as a steady stream of suppressive fire ravaged our defense. An EMP grenade was thrown into the mix as well, but since I didn't have my helmet on at the moment, I didn't have to endure its disorienting effects while the electronics temporarily shut down and booted back up. While the Marines around me were stunned, I popped back up and fired off several bursts, finishing out my mag before taking cover once more to replace it.

"Where the hell is that MG! Get it up now!"

"They're working on it, Colonel!" Captain Diaz replied from below.

"Sharpshooters?"

"Moving into position!"

Finally, just as the Prometheans were getting way too close for comfort, the proverbial cavalry arrived. Marines started fighting in sync with one another and the large-caliber machine gun opened up, immediately freeing our perimeter of enemy forces who'd managed to get through. A handful of Knights and most of the Crawlers were just blasted, getting torn up by the heavy rate of fire of the MG. Those behind began lagging as well once the sharpshooters started in from our six, forcing sharp _cracks_ through the air as they took down their targets further out. After much effort, this was starting to look like the defense it should've been from the get-go.

The sudden onslaught was too much now for the Promethean AI-bots to overcome; it was strange sometimes just how quickly things could turn around in combat. Though there weren't many of us we were making good use of our resources and working together now, and for this fight that made all the difference.

"Excellent work, Marines! Force them out!"

I hunkered down with another fresh magazine and fired off burst after burst at the remaining Crawlers on the rough desert floor - the few Knights left had cut their losses and already teleported out, taking most of the Watchers with them. Those caught in the crossfire weren't so lucky, though, and ended up smoking pieces of wreckage against the rocks.

When it was all over a few minutes later, I found myself letting out a sigh of relief as sweat dotted my forehead. The whole skirmish hadn't taken much more than fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours had gone by.

And it was then that I realized just how fast my heart was pounding in my chest. I shut my eyes tight and waited a moment for my pulse to steady before opening them again. When I glanced up, I saw Captain Diaz staring down at me with the beginnings of a grin on his face.

"Could've used you here all along, Colonel," he said to me. "That was a sight to see."

I snorted as I stood. "You might want to wait a while to take a victory lap. That effort started off slow and sloppy. Your Marines need to get better or we won't make it out here." I gave him a pointed look. "I'll help of course, but you're closer to them. I need you to carry it out and make sure things are done right."

"Yes, ma'am. What can I do?"

"We'll get you the extra men and supplies, but you have to put them to good use." I looked around at the signs of the skirmish - the torn up terrain and fast-degrading outer wall. "One of my battalions in the 52nd Regiment are engineers. I'll have some of them work on fixing this wall first, make it stronger so it provides us with better protection. They'll get on it as soon as they arrive, along with setting up additional barracks space for everyone who's just gotten here."

"Okay. What else?"

"You can't depend only on the Marines you've got stationed on the wall when a fight like that breaks out," I answered. "You need to get anyone who can help out here right away - anyone who's got the chops you need at the time. With how bare bones things are right now, you can't afford not to use everything you have." I gestured to the corners where there was obvious need of permanently posted gunners. "We've got extra MGs in the supply crates we brought. I'll send you a map later of where I want those set up, and I want Marines on them twenty-four-seven. Understood?"

He nodded. "Got it, Colonel."

"You figure out the rotations, but we can't just leave ourselves open to attack." I motioned for him to walk with me then and he followed, along with Staff Sergeant Lynch and the rest of my team. When we got closer to the inner quad, I pointed out the high cliffs at our back. "We're actually not in a bad spot here from a defensive perspective, Diaz. You just need to know how to use that to your advantage. We've got cliffs on our six and our left and right flank. That makes it hard to be attacked from the sides, or from behind, but leaves us open in the middle. That's a perfect place to bolster up a barricade and make an observation post to alert the rest of us of incoming enemy forces."

The captain started to reply, but I cut him off.

"And those cliffs aren't just natural walls to help protect the outpost. I want each of your sharpshooters posted up there at all times - again on a rotating basis. However you see fit, but we shouldn't let all of this terrain go to waste." I met his gaze then. "What do you have in the way of explosives?"

He shrugged and scratched at his head in embarrassment. "I'm not too sure actually, ma'am. Major Rosa was in charge of that, and when I took over...well, I had other things on my mind. It was all a lot to digest at once."

"All right. Well, if you're out, we've got some crates of those, too. We'll get a demo team to start setting them up on all sectors of approach. That should do it for today. It'll be a good start."

Captain Diaz raised an eyebrow at me. "A good _start_, ma'am?"

I nodded as I slung my rifle behind my back once more and stooped to pick up my helmet where I'd left it. "Yes, Captain. It takes a lot more than a Marine with a gun and orders to fire at the enemy to keep up a viable outpost. You'll learn that now that we're here if you haven't already."

* * *

It didn't take long after that for the remainder of the 52nd Regiment to begin trickling in from the LZ. I opened private COM channels to each of my battalion commanders, informing them of the situation and issuing orders on what I wanted them to work on right away. After that I had my XO, Major Brewer, meet with me and Captain Diaz in the command tent for a briefing.

As we stood around the holo map of the area, I let out a sigh. "So here's where we're at, and all of this - " I said, indicating the encroaching sphere of red surrounding us, " - is where the enemy has been known to come from. As you can see, we're pretty well covered on all sides. So besides beefing up security internally here at the outpost, I want more roving patrols deployed now that we've got the manpower. I've already spoken to Diaz about setting up a forward observation post, too. Anything you can see that you'd like to add?"

Brewer shook her head. "Not that I can tell right now, Colonel. My only concern is all that red. It's going to be hard to get the scientists safely in and out to explore the area if we're on the defensive all the time."

I nodded. "Right. We'll eventually have to push outward and form a larger perimeter to give them some space to work, but that's a ways off for now. First things first. We need the outpost truly up and running - and safe - before we send out the scientists."

Captain Diaz frowned. "Scientists? You brought civvies in with you guys?"

"That's affirmative," Major Brewer responded. "You didn't hear? The UNSC wants us to start turning Requiem into a research station. Once the Storm and Prometheans are sufficiently out of the way, we let the brains loose out here and cover them. See what kind of info they can turn up on our new friends."

Diaz snorted. "Jesus. What the hell do they think is out here? We've barely been hanging on ourselves lately, let alone trying to protect a group of smartasses who don't know how to use a gun."

"Watch it," I warned, flashing him a sharp look.

"Apologies, ma'am. I just think this is ridiculous."

"Ridiculous or no, they're our orders," I said firmly. "And they're not so far-fetched now that we're here. Once the outpost is in decent shape we'll have a good chance of going on the offensive at times, too, and not just fighting to stay alive."

"It won't be that easy, Colonel, even with the extra troops. This morning was just a taste of what we normally deal with."

"I'm aware of that. And I said we'll get it done." I glanced at my XO again. "Anything else, Dani?"

"No, ma'am."

"All right. Diaz, I've got some more tasks for you once the work gets underway in here."

"Ma'am?"

"When the engineers are finished we'll have several new amenities up and running. We'll get a mess tent, improved and expanded barracks, a much better outer wall, and rudimentary showers. I want you to make sure all your men are cleaned, shaved, fed, and rested while my battalions watch the lines. You'd be surprised how much the simplest things can boost morale out in the field - and what a major difference that will make in their performance."

"Understood, Colonel."

"We'll show them that they're not beaten yet. This operation can still be salvaged. And we don't have to bow to the enemy anymore."

* * *

What I wanted to do after a long afternoon of overseeing the improvements I'd ordered done was curl up on a cot and sleep. I was exhausted from the time difference and the trip, and being constantly on alert for sounds as I'd been told the outpost was routinely hit more than once in a day. But there was still much to be done, and evening was slowly approaching on this side of Requiem. I ended up returning to the command tent instead, where I found Major Brewer studying the holo map again.

"If you're looking for easy answers, they don't magically pop up from the geography, unfortunately."

The major chuckled. "I kind of figured. This place is in pretty terrible shape, huh?"

"Yeah. They've had some setbacks and a lot of bad luck. I'm hoping we can turn that around now that we're here."

"Did doing a walk-around outside help?"

I ran a hand across my face, wishing the mess was up already so I could get some coffee. "A little. We didn't get all the way around because the Prometheans attacked. We should probably go do that before the sun goes down."

"I'll go find Diaz."

Realizing there wasn't much I could do from inside the tent, I stepped out and followed her...until I saw him in the distance.

Apparently Brewer did as well, since I saw her suddenly grin. "Well, ma'am, we certainly don't have a shortage of good-looking spooks. My husband being one of them."

Frozen in place for the moment, it took me a while to reply. "His colleague is charming and very attractive, but he's a snake. I don't trust him."

My XO whipped around. "You know him?"

"Sadly, yes."

I left it at that and walked past her. I deliberately went the long way around to avoid running into Ethan again, but somehow he managed to zero in on us and moved to approach - despite the fact that I'd explicitly told him I never wanted him near me again.

He flashed me a smile as he sidled up, and I felt my stomach turn.

"Colonel. Feeling better now that you've got all that off your chest?"

Before he could get any closer, I pulled my battle rifle off my back and aimed it right at his torso. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he stopped dead in his tracks, while beside me, Brewer gave me an startled look.

"Back. _Off_," I said in a tight voice. "I meant what I said, Ethan. You don't get to come see me and you don't get to talk to me. Turn right around and leave."

Ethan appeared to recover from the shock and his grin widened. Then he started laughing, his hands held up in surrender.

"That's a tad overreactive, Cooper, don't you think?" He flicked his gaze toward Brewer. "I'm here to speak to the major, if you don't mind, since getting a sitrep from you is clearly out of the question."

"But I don't think it's been made clear enough quite yet," I replied, still holding my gun to bear. "You talk to her when I'm _gone_, Commander. Not in my presence. You do your job and I'll do mine, but we do it _far_ away from each other. Understand?"

Doing something sensible for once, Ethan took a step back, hands still up in the air. "All right. I got it."

"All right, _what_?"

"All right, _ma'am_." He looked to Brewer again. "Major, I need to speak with you when you're done with the lieutenant colonel. It appears she's in a bad mood today."

He gave me one last look before he lowered his hands, turned, and walked off. I brought my weapon down after another few seconds and found my second-in-command just staring at me. I slung my battle rifle behind my back, trying not to look sheepish.

"There's _got_ to be a story in there somewhere," she said to me.

I released a sigh and decided to come clean - at least about a fragment of it.

"He's my ex," I answered simply.


	20. Chapter 19: Trouble on the Horizon

**Chapter Nineteen: Trouble on the Horizon**

**0735 Hours, July 24, 2558. Forerunner Shield World Surface, Requiem. "The Revelation," Epoloch System. Day Five of the War of Tomorrow**

It took a few days for things to start turning around at Outpost Xavier. Both my engineers and other Marines were hard at work with various tasks while the original inhabitants of the outpost rested, and within a short span of time we had a new mess tent, an improved series of barracks underway, and a much better perimeter defense set up. We were still waiting on the showers, though, but I knew that would come by the end of the week – and now no longer exhausted and continuously on the lines, the original contingent looked to be doing well enough to wait.

For my part, I took advantage of my command quarters and stayed in a moment longer this morning, using the COM console I was supposed to use as a link to my higher-ups on Earth for something not-so-authorized – contacting my family for the first time since our arrival. I waited impatiently for the connection to go through, and then smiled slightly as my husband's tired voice came over the unit.

"Hello?"

"Hi, honey. It's me," I said.

I could hear the grin in his voice when he replied. "Hey, Cooper. It's good to hear from you. I'm guessing you guys made it safe?"

"We did, just a few days ago. I'm sorry I didn't try calling you sooner. It's kind of a mess out here and we're just starting to get organized."

"It's all right." He sighed on the other end, sounding more alert now. "You're probably still not allowed to tell me where you are, huh?"

I shook my head out of reflex, although the call was audio only. "Nope. I'm sorry about that, too. But we're alive and okay for now. There's just a lot of work to be done, and not much time. We get attacked on a regular basis and it tends to stall whatever we're trying to accomplish at the moment."

"I get it. No hope of you getting back early then."

"We'll see. Maybe our sprucing up around here'll do the trick." I swallowed suddenly, unable to put it off anymore. I really needed _someone_ to talk to about it, and I wanted it to be him. "Listen, Will, there's something about the mission I need to - "

I stopped mid-sentence when I heard a commotion on the other end, then my husband came back on the line.

"Shit. Coop, I know you might not get another chance to call for a while and I'm glad you did. I'll let the kids know you're doing okay. But Collins just called me back into her office for something urgent. I need to be there in ten minutes."

I didn't know what to say in response to the abrupt interruption, so all I replied was, "All right."

"I love you very much, Natalie. Please be safe."

"I will. I love you, too."

Shortly after that I found myself sitting disappointed on my bunk, wishing we'd had longer to talk and that I could have finished telling him about Ethan – that he was somehow still alive and here with me. I very much wanted Willis to be the one in his place, but the cosmos didn't work that way. I was instead stuck with a man I would have rather had remained dead, while the one I loved was light-years away, busy at home with the family I missed so much it hurt.

* * *

In an effort to keep my mind off home as much as possible, I set out to make the rounds of the outpost after I'd taken my meds for the nightmares and dressed. Thankfully avoiding any run-ins with Ethan today, I checked in with my battalion commanders on their progress, met with Major Brewer about the defensive operations going on in and around Xavier, and once that was complete I thought I'd check in with the wounded in the medical tent.

Almost a week since our arrival, the badly injured Major Hillary Rosa was reportedly still clinging to life. I wished there were some way for me to facilitate her recovery, but the best I could do was pay a visit to her and the other Marines who'd suffered nasty hits while stationed in the hot desert on a remote world.

Even though I had my jacket sleeves rolled up again and held my helmet in hand, I found myself perspiring from the heat by the time I made it to the tent. Corpsman Michael Reynolds was the first to see me enter and he flashed a small grin.

"Colonel Cooper. Good to see you in here without being one of my patients for once."

I snorted. "Don't jinx it, Doc. We just got dirtside. There's still plenty of time for that."

"I hope not, ma'am. What brings you in?"

"Just taking a quick tour and thought I'd stop in to see how things were going. Any changes for Major Rosa yet?"

He quickly shook his head. "No, ma'am. She's still fighting, but to be honest, I'm not sure she'll make it. Round to the throat like that…it'll be tough."

"Well, all we can do is hope she'll somehow come back around, right?" I folded my arms across my chest and sighed. "My husband did on Khan, when everyone was telling me to expect the worst. I couldn't accept it, and he battled hard and made it back."

"Yes, ma'am. Miracles happen every day." His grin suddenly returned. "_You're_ still here after all the close calls you've had over the years, aren't you?"

"Touchè."

He turned then and indicated the fallen major's room number with his hand. "Straight that way to the right, Colonel. Although you should be forewarned, she has already has a visitor."

"Who?"

"Captain Diaz. I get the feeling they're more familiar with each other than a CO-XO pair normally are."

He said that last with a hint of disapproval and I wondered why. It was true that Diaz and Rosa were different ranks, as well as within the same direct chain of command – both no-nos according to the regs. But they were also both officers, and close enough in rank that their personal relationship could be ignored so long as it didn't create a problem. Reynolds's judgment about something fairly slight was not a usual trait of his, and that made me curious.

"I got that feeling the other day, too," I finally said. "Thanks for the heads-up."

"No problem, ma'am."

When I reached the room, I saw Captain Diaz sitting beside the major's bed, holding her left hand in both of his and hunched over, as if in prayer. He stopped his whispering and barely noticeable rocking back and forth when I came in and started.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper, ma'am," he said, making to stand but I gestured at him to stay put. It was clear he was torn for a moment between wanting to hang onto Rosa's hand and knowing he shouldn't in front of me. Finally he let go and placed it beside her leg on the cot, and it was my turn to be a bit surprised. Major Rosa's ring finger had a wedding band on it.

"She's married," I said, realizing I was stating the obvious but unable to stop the words. The wounded Marine officer's face was very pale from blood loss, and she had long curly black hair that cascaded down to her shoulders, almost getting caught in all the tubes and wires going into her arm, her respirator, and her throat. She looked to be in as bad a shape as I'd been told. And yet that was the detail I focused on. "But not to you."

To his credit, Captain Tanner Diaz didn't shy away from the truth. "No, ma'am. She told me her husband's back on Hammond in the Outer Colonies, where his family's from, waiting for her to come home. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about us." His face turned red. "We didn't…mean for it to happen. It just sort of evolved, I guess. We'd been out here for so long together facing dire straights, thinking we were going to die any day and it…got serious."

"So you had an affair."

"Yes."

I took in a deep breath and said, "You were honest with me, Diaz, so I'm going to be honest with you. Knowing that puts me in a precarious position. Military law is very clear on extramarital affairs between the ranks; you know I can't let this slide, like I would've if you were both single."

For the first time, Captain Diaz hung his head low. "I know, Colonel."

"I know what it's like to be away from your spouse for months – hell, for _years_ – at a time. I know what kinds of emotions you go through when you're on the lines for that long and constantly see things headed south. But that's not an excuse."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Are you married, too, Captain?"

"No, ma'am."

"Does she have kids?"

"No, ma'am."

Not that that made it any easier on Rosa's husband, who'd soon find his wife had been unfaithful on top of her likely death. But at least there weren't children or another spouse in the mix to make the heartbreak and betrayal even worse.

Still, seeing the former acting outpost commander lying in bloodied fatigues on the cot before me with nothing but the tubes keeping her alive for now was enough for me to make my next words gentle ones, even if the message wasn't.

"You know what's going to happen now, Diaz. I told you before that I can't just turn a blind eye to this. If she wakes up, you'll both receive a reprimand, and one of you is getting transferred to a separate outpost immediately. If she doesn't, the black mark on your record goes to you. Either way, it ends here."

"Yes, ma'am."

I left then, not wanting to involve myself further in the matter.

During the War Willis and I had spent almost two and a half years apart, shortly after getting married on Graduation Day at the Naval Academy. I'd had a terrible first campaign where I'd seen plenty of blood and guts and real death, up close and personal, for the first times in my life, and I'd needed to feel things like being cared for and feeling safe and secure again – or even to find some temporary escape to forget all that was happening around me, all that I'd witnessed. Two years was a long time to spend apart, especially under the circumstances, but I'd never cheated on Willis – and neither had he. The day we'd finally reunited was also the night we conceived our first son, and after that it just felt normal to be away for long stretches of time, even if it hurt.

But my hope had always been in seeing my husband again, and later our son. Never in someone else.

* * *

Oddly enough, I felt much more comfortable an hour later as I geared up along with one of my battalions' company of Marines for a patrol into known enemy territory than I had in the medtent earlier this morning with Captain Diaz.

Every commander in the Corps accepted the fact that some of the men and women under their command would naturally act on their impulses and attractions from time to time; facing death and the stresses of combat every day made that even more likely. The problems arose when there were vast differences in rank, an inability to remain professional with one another in public, or one or both parties were already legally bound to someone else. It was the latter cases I hated dealing with because I expected more of the people I led. It sounded like the lieutenant colonel who'd been in charge before hadn't instilled personal integrity in his Marines, either, in addition to caring poorly for his post.

But until Major Rosa's fate was determined, there was nothing for me to do about the situation for now except wait. I still hoped she made a full recovery somehow, but if she did, she was in for some serious ramifications for her actions – as was Diaz.

For the moment, though, I put all of that on the backburner as I picked up a few extra clips for my weapons from an ammo crate, and glanced around to make sure the others did the same.

"The area's crawling with aliens and AI-bots on all sides, Marines," I said loudly, shoving a last mag into my pants pocket and reaching for a grenade to replace the one I'd used the day we'd landed. I hooked the frag to my web belt carefully and added, "Pack as much heat as you can carry. You never know what we'll run into out there."

I was answered with a chorus of "Yes, ma'am"s and other acknowledgments. Satisfied by the response – and the fact that I had everything I needed for the patrol – I took a step back to let the company commander handle it while I went and found Major Brewer to let her know I was leaving.

"Dani, I'm going out for a while with your G Company," I said to her. "Make sure you keep a good eye on this place while I'm gone."

"Yes, ma'am," she answered, frowning slightly. "But all due respect…are you sure that's safe?"

I couldn't help but grin a little. "Definitely not safe, no. But I want to see what we're up against out here for myself, and the attacks on the outpost only show me half the picture. I need to know just how bad it is so we can be better prepared."

Slowly the major nodded. "I understand, Colonel. I'll have things under control here until then." She cleared her throat. "You're supposed to have your meeting with the spooks today as well, ma'am. Should I take that over for you?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Although I'm sure you already know Cal's take on things." At least the parts he could tell her, anyway. I knew Caleb would never reveal confidential information to his wife because I knew Cal, and I also knew he kept others' private matters to himself since Brewer had been genuinely ignorant of my connection to Ethan the other day – a fact I very much appreciated. Since then, my already high estimation of Lieutenant Lloyd had gone up even more.

I paused before pulling my helmet on. "As for Commander Ackerson's appraisal, you can fill me in on that when I get back."

"Understood, ma'am. Good luck, and semper fi."

"Oorah, Major. We'll try to return quick."


	21. Chapter 20: Hide and Seek

**Chapter Twenty: Hide and Seek**

I remained at the center of the formation as we set off behind Captain Leo Stangørd and his Golf Company, surrounded by my security detail on all sides, plus the Marines of G. It was already hot in the desert at mid-morning, so while helmets were a must on the combat patrol, each of the Marines had opted to shed their uniform jackets in favor of strapping their torso armor on directly over the T-shirts they wore underneath. I was no exception, and I found myself quickly starting to sweat through that layer of clothing, too.

I suddenly thought of the late Major Hayden and what he'd said about the weather back on Khan, a while before he was killed – it was probably going to be the only place either of us had ever been stationed at that had had comfortable temperatures.

"Coming up on the forward OP now, Colonel," Captain Stangørd said to me over the COM then. "Orders?"

"Send them a confirmation hail, Captain," I responded, holding my battle rifle loosely in my arms across my middle. "We don't want to get off on the wrong foot."

"Yes, ma'am."

This was the first day the observation post I'd ordered placed outside the outpost had been up and running. They weren't used to seeing friendly patrols out yet and were likely jumpy because of the unknown, so I wanted to make sure they were well aware of our presence.

The confirmation took all of fifteen seconds, and with a green flash of light across my HUD indicating that we were all good to go, we continued on into the rocky landscape. I had to admit, there was a certain rugged beauty to Requiem – at least what I'd seen of it so far. The knowledge that we were currently caged in on all sides by various enemies, though, made it seem treacherous and foreboding.

"So how long are we going to be out here, Nat?"

I turned and faced my brother-in-law for a moment when he spoke, but quickly returned my attention to our surroundings, just in case. "I'm not sure yet. I guess it depends on what we find. Why? You nervous?"

"Maybe a little."

I smiled slightly. "Good. That'll keep you alive. But don't let the fear overtake you, Matt; you've fought before and did just fine on Khan. And you're a Marine now, Private."

"I know," he replied with a chuckle. "It's just…Khan was my home, you know? I felt comfortable there and I knew the city inside and out. Here everything's different. It's all new to me still – not just the terrain, but the people I'm with, too."

"Have you been fitting in okay with your squad?"

"Yeah," he answered fast, but didn't sound totally convincing. He seemed to sense it in his voice and amended, "Well, sort of. There's already a rumor going around that I used to be a reb, so I get grilled about that sometimes. A couple of my fireteam members are cool with it after I explained it to them, but others…I don't think everyone trusts me."

Glancing down at the dirt, I said, "Well, I can't say I'm surprised by that. The Corps' a tight group and if we feel like anyone's gone against us in the past, it can be very hard to let that person into the club. But I know you, and the fact that you never hurt anyone in your time as a rebel on Khan. You were just trying to find your way in your adopted world, and that seemed like the only choice for you then. In time, they'll start to see that, too."

"I hope so."

"Till then, just be yourself and keep your guard up, okay?"

Matthew nodded. "Right."

Gripping my gun in my left hand, I reached out with my right as we walked and squeezed his shoulder. "Speaking of, you should get back to your squad. They'll need you to have their six in case something breaks out."

"What about you?"

I flipped a thumb to my detail behind me. "Don't worry, I'm covered. You don't have to be scared of facing Will's wrath if I don't make it." I gave him a pointed look. "_I_ do if something happens to you, though, so stay sharp."

"Yes, ma'am."

The younger Hawk flashed me a quick grin before jogging up ahead to rejoin his unit. I was stupidly watching his progress when we entered a large, rocky overlook and shots rang out from below.

I brought my weapon to bear in an instant as my security detail formed up tighter around me. Keying the COM, I shouted, "Sitrep!"

Captain Stangørd replied, "We hit the hornet's nest, ma'am! Storm!"

"How many?"

"At least a platoon's worth, Colonel! And they've got support. Two Ghosts and a Wraith!"

"_Shit._" I switched to a general channel and said, "Heavy weapons, you're up, now! I want MGs along the ridgeline and snipers covering their six! The rest of you hold position and open fire if you're up front!"

Much to the dismay of my team, I broke formation then and ran towards the fighting myself, hoping to get up close to see what was going on. Staff Sergeant Derek Lynch was hot on my heels as I ran across the hard, dusty golden plateau, no doubt cursing behind me.

"Colonel, wait for us! The area's hot!" he called.

"I know, Staff! That's why I'm going!"

The sounds of gunfire and incoming plasma rounds grew louder as we rushed through the column. I heard the _whoosh_ of an outgoing rocket somewhere on my flank, the steady rattle of the machine guns in front of us, and the occasional sharp _cracks_ of the sniper rifles already doing their jobs. Some of the Marines close by with mid- or long-distance guns also opened up, but the rest stood tense and watched, guns held at the ready but not yet in range to do any good.

I got to the ridgeline just as a second rocket streaked through the air below, connecting with one of the Ghosts at the bottom of the half-moon desert floor and exploded, blue sparks and alien parts flying. It was good one was already out of the mix, but up here, that wasn't the vehicle type I was most worried about.

"Heavy weapons, concentrate fire on that Wraith! We don't want it to – !"

No sooner had I started to say the words than the large enemy tank set its sights on us. I grabbed hold of the top of the closest Marine's torso armor and pulled him back, making him rise to his feet as he gripped a rocket launcher in his hands to turn and run.

"Mortar incoming!" I yelled out, stumbling back. "Spread out!"

The terrifying _schwoop_ from down below signaled that the heavy round was already on its way. I'd thought the extreme angle might be tough for the Wraith to handle, but it seemed the operator was a good one. The huge, glowing blue round burst moments later against the top of the ridge, while some of the MG gunners were still scrambling to get out of the way. I heard their screams as several were consumed in the blast, while an unlucky few fell to their deaths as a sizable chunk of rock broke off the face of the cliff, right out from under the boots of Marines who'd been slower to react.

For my part, I'd leapt towards the ground as soon as I'd sprinted away, Staff Sergeant Lynch following a split second later to crush me to the rock to protect me. I'd groaned at the sudden added weight, but when he finally got off and offered me his hand to help me up once the danger was gone, I felt grateful.

I could tell by the state of my aide's uniform and armor that chunks of debris had rained down on us from the large detonation. Lynch was still brushing them off when I moved past him to assess the damage, ignoring the stinging pain from various small cuts on my bare arms as I went.

"Stangørd, what's our status?" I barked.

"Half of first squad of first platoon is gone, ma'am," the captain responded. "They weren't able to move in time."

"Dammit." I stepped up and moved forward with the Marines holding rockets, not wanting to place them in harm's way if I wouldn't go myself. "Heavy weapons, we need to get back on it! Aim at that Wraith, now! We need it destroyed! MGs and snipers, hold for now and move back in the second it's gone!"

Acknowledgment lights winked green across my HUD, but in the moment I barely noticed. Instead I crouched beside one of the rocketmen and aimed down the sights of my BR85HB using its scope, spotting targets while they managed the Wraith. I fired off a series of rounds at one of the Elites below, while I heard the Marine to my right let loose another streaking rocket. To my left, a second did the same, as did a third further down the line.

The trio of heavy rounds impacted the Wraith tank one after the other below. I thought it was done for until I saw that the final rocket had just clipped its side, barely missing. I cursed under my breath as the rocketmen ducked to reload, hoping the now-smoking and sparking behemoth didn't still have enough power left to launch another round back at us.

Unfortunately, it did.

_Schwoop!_

"Marines,_ move!_"

This time it was Staff Sergeant Lynch who yanked _my_ armor from behind, forcing me backwards before anyone else had even had time to get to their feet. Our luck seemed to be getting better, though, because the big mortar round ended up falling short; we never saw it come up against the ridgeline, but I felt the quake beneath my boots as it hit the cliff face several meters beneath it.

"It missed!" I cried. "Get those rockets in the tube _now_ and take it out!"

One of the Marines who'd been next to me earlier sprung up to be the first to the ridgeline, holding his heavy weapon at the ready. A second later he suddenly pitched forward off the cliff with a muted sound – and a messy spray of blood – as a sniper round from the Storm went straight through his helmeted head.

Now decorated with splotches of bright red on my fatigues, I stopped short before shouting, "Enemy sharpshooters below! Be cautious and make it quick!"

I dropped to my stomach beside the heavy weapons crew then, inching forward to the edge of the ridge to keep from becoming the next victim. I needed to see where the fire was coming from to try to keep the rocketmen safe. Zooming in with the scope, I spotted a faint glint Willis had taught me to look for when I'd learned counter-sniper tactics at the Naval Academy. Though my scope wasn't powerful enough to get me a clear picture from this far away, I fired off a blind pair of bursts, hoping something hit – even if only to keep the Jackals' heads down until I could move in our own snipers to dispatch them.

Meanwhile, I heard two more rockets get released next to me while I did my best to keep the sharpshooters busy. As the heavy weapons crew moved back again to keep out of the way, I fired off one last burst before turning to watch the rockets' trajectory. Both burst right on top of the smoking Wraith tank at once, forcing it into a half a dozen large pieces of burning scrap metal around a hulking ruin.

_Yes,_ I thought, pounding the side of my fist on the ground. I quickly picked up my battle rifle and crawled back from the edge. "Nice work, Marines! Now let's tag the rest! MGs and snipers, you're up! Let's take out their long-distance shots and chew up their remaining defenses! Heavy weapons, get rid of that last Ghost! Then we move in!"

* * *

After the skirmish I stood on the desert floor with my security detail, walking around with the rest of the Marines to take care of the stragglers, and see if we could find any intel on the Storm's presence in the area – like what their total numbers might be, and whether or not they had a permanent outpost of their own somewhere near ours that they were coming from. Judging by their numbers here, I figured this might've been a bigger version of a forward OP for them.

Captain Stangørd came up beside me just as I was firing off a round from my sidearm into a dying Jackal's head. The creature had a blood-smeared beam rifle beside it, even before I put a hole in its cranium; he'd been one of the snipers that had killed nearly a squad of my men on the ridge.

"Colonel, that's the last of them. What did you want us to do now?"

I holstered my pistol and slung my rifle behind my back, which I'd been holding onto with my other hand. I wished I could wipe the sweat from my forehead, but even with the immediate threat eliminated, I knew this was still no place for me to pull off my helmet just yet. "Form a perimeter and keep a sharp eye on that ridge, Stangørd. We can get ambushed from up there just as easily as the Storm did, and we don't have the benefit of vehicles and armor to help us."

"Yes, ma'am."

"After that we sweep this location. I want to know what the Storm were camped here for."

"Right away, Colonel."

The captain made himself scarce then as he went to carry out my orders. In the meantime, I started to look around myself, my detail in tow. We walked around the still-smoking but extinguished ruins of the Wraith tank, and one of the Ghosts not far beyond. I glanced up at a few of the purple structures set up down here, too, where the Remnant troops had mounted a few of their own plasma guns on the circular platforms on top. A dead Grunt was slumped over one, its sky-blue blood spilled and now drying on its MG.

"War isn't pretty, is it?"

I turned at the sound of the voice and felt a spike of anger go through me. "What the _hell _are you doing here? Do you have some kind of hearing impairment or a death wish or something?"

I wished my team had been warned against allowing Ethan Ackerson to approach me. But being technically considered a "friendly", he'd slipped right in in his black ONI fatigues and stood close by now, arms folded across his chest as he quietly observed what I did.

He scoffed at my rebuff. "I'm one of two Intelligence operatives on this mission, Colonel. I have a right to come along on a patrol if I feel I can gather useful intel from it."

"You were supposed to stay at the outpost," I snapped back. "You know I don't want you here."

"The UNSC cares little what you _want_, Cooper. I felt it was time for me to see firsthand what was out here, just like you."

It was my turn to snort this time. "Right. So why weren't you along for any of the combat patrols before now? You only decide 'it's time' to come when it's me?" Though he'd actually kept a respectable distance from me as he spoke, I broke that now and got closer, jabbing a finger in his direction. "Don't forget that _I'm_ the one in charge of the outpost _and_ this operation now, Ethan. I can send you packing so fast – "

"I'm also here because of the kid."

"What?"

Ethan turned to look at me then. "PFC Matthew Hawk. Your husband's brother, right? I know he used to be a rebel in the not-so-distant past, so I want to make sure he's legitimate."

At that I bristled. "And why wouldn't he be? It's not like there's rebs for him to consort with out here anyway. And I doubt he'd want to fuck things up for us light-years from home because I'm _sure_ he doesn't want to die on this shield planet." It was only then that a lightbulb went on in my head. "This is because you still have some kind of grudge against Willis, isn't it? Going after his brother because you can't go after him? Because he _deigned_ to treat me with dignity and respect all those years ago, unlike you?"

My ex didn't take the bait. Instead he turned away again and replied in an even tone, "Think what you want, Natalie. That's in the past."

"Is it really? You still haven't told me yet how it is you're alive. I saw your dead body in Lienz, Ethan, transformed into a Flood form with your _dogtags_ hanging off it. And yet you're here, clearly alive and well and just as much of a sick bastard as you used to be. Care to explain that?"

Our gazes met and I felt a subtle shift between us, though I couldn't figure out what it was just yet.

"It's ONI, Natalie," Ethan said matter-of-factly. "Don't believe everything you see."


	22. Chapter 21: Not Indifferent

**Chapter Twenty-One: Not Indifferent**

It didn't escape my notice that Ethan had once again dodged the answer to my question, but for now we had more important things on our plate to deal with. I consulted with Captain Stangørd on the route we were to continue taking on the remainder of the patrol, going to the edge of the rugged desert area and along the natural boundary of the treeline, where more of a jungle-like terrain began. Taking a look at the map on my datapad, I designated that as 'Sector A' and marked the jungle, as of yet unmapped, as 'Sector B', to be explored later. I also placed an 'X' on the area we'd just cleared, where the pocket of Storm had been, for the scientists to investigate later. After taking a look around we were still unsure what purpose the Remnant's presence there had served, but Ethan said he'd bring the findings back to Lieutenant Lloyd once we returned to the outpost and see if they couldn't piece it together. I nodded at that but didn't answer him directly.

"Okay," I said then, putting my datapad back in my pocket and hefting my weapon instead. "Looks like it's time to get this show back on the road."

We hadn't been marching long when we came on a scene I hadn't witnessed for quite some time – aliens wiped out by aliens. Just beyond the next overlook there was a whole bloody battlefield below, the signs of the fight everywhere but so far, totally devoid of life. I raised my BR85HB anyway and swept the barrel from side to side and even up above, checking for any stragglers or snipers…or clues that would tell me this was an ambush.

Staff Sergeant Derek Lynch approached quickly behind me. "Ma'am, I respectfully suggest you send a scouting team ahead of you before you go in. We don't know what happened here, and it could still be hot."

"Of course, Staff." I lowered my gun and hit the COM. "Second platoon, you're up. Move up slow and keep your eyes peeled on all sectors. Even if the place looks dead, that doesn't mean it is."

Acknowledgement lights winked green and I crouched by a rocky alcove, surrounded by my security detail, as the platoon of Marines moved forward. A few meters away I saw Captain Stangørd watching their progress, looking just as tense as I felt.

Several minutes passed before we got the all-clear, and I finally felt the breath reenter my lungs. Staff Sergeant Lynch moved up first, while the rest of his team and I followed.

"Jesus, Colonel. Get a load of this," my aide murmured as we walked. "The Prometheans slaughtered our favorite extraterrestrial buddies out here."

I snorted as I stepped over the dented and torn-apart wreckage of a Crawler, itself lying beside a Jackal with its guts spilled out on the ground. I wrinkled my nose at the stench. "Or the other way around. Looks like they massacred each other. Cuts down on our work, though, I guess."

"You'll want to tag this area for the scientists, ma'am," a familiar and unwelcome voice said beside us then. "There's a lot of leftover Promethean weapons and parts here they can take a look at. Still no Knights though, unfortunately; only their guns."

I turned and saw Ethan pressing a hand to the side of his helmet as he focused his gaze on the bodies, no doubt taking photos of the carnage or recording video clips of what had occurred. He seemed to have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and I scowled. "Don't tell me how to do my job, Commander. Believe it or not, I didn't get this far just because my father had a lot of pull with the brass."

Ethan snorted at the jab, not taking his attention off his work. "It was just a suggestion, Cooper. Like the one your aide offered a minute ago. Try not to take offense at everything I say."

"Hard to do when my last memory of you was your sly fucking face in the courtroom when you got the _shortest_ sentence possible for - "

I stopped when Staff Sergeant Lynch bumped my shoulder. "Colonel, we might have trouble."

A lone Watcher was hovering around nearby, strangely not firing on us yet. I hadn't seen one without another before, nor without one of the Knights they were typically programmed to keep an eye on. It was further out and seemed to be scouring for something, but we didn't get to find out what. Ethan lifted his rifle without a word and shot it down in two precise bursts from his DMR. When it was sparking on the ground, he turned to me.

"Contrary to popular belief, not all of my skills are thanks to my father," he said.

* * *

We remained at the site just long enough for Ethan to finish collecting what he needed. By then the utter quiet was getting to me, and I still wondered what the Watcher he'd shot down had really been doing. Looking for its charge? Searching for an essential piece of equipment? Scouting ahead?

From what we'd seen so far, there seemed to be so much activity on Requiem from various factions that the answer was nearly limitless.

"Spook looks done, Colonel," Captain Stangørd said to me over the COM then. "Should I give the order to move on?"

I nodded in my helmet out of reflex. "Go ahead, Captain. Let's head back to the outpost. I think we've seen enough for today."

"Yes, ma'am."

The company of Marines had just begun their exit when I felt something hot sizzle past my shoulder. I ducked behind the cover of a large, jagged boulder fast, along with half of my security detail.

"Lynch, where's that fire coming from?" I yelled into the radio.

"More Storm, ma'am! They're on approach!"

_Great,_ I thought, and hunkered down to prepare for the fight. "Marines, we've got Remnant troops on the way! Take cover and return fire!"

The group we ran into this time was larger but without the added cavalry, making me think we'd just been two unlucky patrols that had run into each other, despite the fact that there was clear evidence the Storm had had some sort of stake around here to fight the Prometheans over it. All of that was a secondary consideration though as protecting myself and my Marines came first.

Staff Sergeant Lynch rushed over a moment later, propping up his SAW against the rock and letting loose a long rattle as the enemy came into range. A whole line of Grunts fell against the onslaught, the stream of bullets ripping their bodies apart and splattering blood onto the landscape. More moved in behind them though, as did the remainder of the unit.

"Grenade out!" I heard a voice to our flank call out, and I turned to see Matthew running up, gripping his MA5D in one hand and a primed frag in the other. He let the explosive fly in the middle of a hail of lead and plasma and needle fire, then spun on his heel to get back into cover. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I squeezed the trigger of my own gun, tagging two Jackals in the head and dropping them before they could get further ahead, when I saw my young brother-in-law trip over a smaller rock on the ground he hadn't seen.

"Matt!"

I jumped to my feet without a second thought, my heart pounding hard in my chest as I saw him go down in the crossfire. Lying on the ground like that I knew he'd be targeted in an instant and killed. So I sprinted over to drag him out.

Holding my battle rifle tight against my shoulder, I fired off three quick bursts as I ran, more to keep the oncoming Storm troops' heads down than anything else. Behind me I heard my aide cursing like crazy at my leaping out of cover, but he stayed put and provided suppressive fire while I got to Matt.

"Get up!" I shouted at him, pulling on his body armor. "We have to move!"

"I don't – "

"_Now!_"

I half hauled him up before he started moving himself and ran off again when I gave him a hard shove in the direction of a boulder. He paused just long enough to squeeze off a long burst at the Remnant, then ducked behind the big rock as more enemy fire came our way. In the meantime I rushed for cover again myself, sprinting just ahead and below the incoming rounds, feeling the hot pulses whizz past me. A handful of needler rounds and carbine fire followed me, and I even heard – and saw – a long-distance shot flash in front of me. I was being painted all right. I ran faster.

I was already ducking low behind the same boulder as Matthew when the last couple of needle rounds traced me around the bend. Three of them burst against the side of the rock, sending a fine dust through the air. The other two didn't.

When they pierced my armor I let out a loud groan, stumbling behind cover and nearly falling to impale myself even further. Thankfully I caught myself in time, but by then I knew I was dead anyway. As soon as the crystalline spikes burst inside me, I was toast.

"No, no, no!"

Matthew was crouched beside me in less than a second, gripping my shoulders as I dropped on all fours on the ground, my vision going in and out, but there was nothing he could do.

"Back…up," I tried to croak, not wanting him to be so close to the exploding shards, but I couldn't seem to get the words out through the thick liquid in my mouth. Blood mixed with saliva, I realized.

I started to wheeze and my brother-in-law sat me back against the rock with the spikes still in me, hoping the change in position would help me breathe better. It did a little bit, but mostly it was the fluid keeping me from breathing well. With effort I gestured vaguely to my neck, and somehow he seemed to get it and pulled off my helmet. I looked into his panicked face for the first time without the obstruction of my HUD or visor – though my plain sight itself wasn't so sharp right now, either.

"Natalie! Oh, holy shit!"

It was only then that I realized the spikes in me should have burst a while ago. I wondered fleetingly why they hadn't and what was taking so long, but then my respiratory issues took sudden priority over my thoughts. I started coughing and finally choked out blood, struggling for air.

"Medic! We need a medic!" Matthew shouted next to me. "The colonel's been hit!"

I wasn't sure what happened next because I lost consciousness.

* * *

My first breath of oxygen wasn't labored like it'd been before, and it took me just a few short seconds for my brain to register that I was on a respirator. It was a while before my next breath came though, so it wasn't automated. It was manual.

"Ma'am, hang on! We'll get you to the medtent just as fast as we can!"

Staff Sergeant Lynch was the speaker. Him and another Marine were carrying me in a litter up a slope, presumably heading back toward Outpost Xavier. The other uniformed woman next to me, ventilating the bag in her hand that was linked to the respirator on my face, was G Company's medic.

"Be careful! We need to be quick but don't rattle the litter too much! Those shards might still burst!"

Shards? Burst? I glanced down at myself slowly, seeing the translucent pink needler rounds still stuck high in my gut. So they weren't out yet. At least they hadn't exploded.

"Christ, Doc, why didn't you take them out?" the second Marine who was helping to carry me said. Matt.

The medic made a sound like he was stupid. "Because she'd bleed out as soon as I pull 'em, Private. But you'd like that, wouldn't you, reb?"

"She's married to my brother! Of course I wouldn't! And I'm not – "

I took what little energy I had and lifted my hand up a pinch, grabbing hold of the medic's arm. "Matthew…alone," I rasped. _Leave him alone._

The medic's eyes went wide but she quickly nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry. We're almost there; hang on."

Things got dark and fuzzy again, and I didn't come around until I felt myself being dropped hard onto a table.

"Watch it!" I heard Doc Reynolds's voice shout. "The fact that those things haven't exploded yet is extremely lucky. We don't want to handle her too roughly or they could burst."

"So what now? How do we get them out without her losing all her blood or them just fragmenting in there?" G Company's medic.

"We'll have to be delicate," Reynolds responded, clearly shaken and a little on edge but determined. "And have the biofoam and some bandages and gauze ready. Give me the tongs."

"Tongs? Won't the metal be too strong? What if we used our hands?"

"If we apply too much force her organs will get shredded by the blast, so be very gentle. And no hands. Those wouldn't be _enough_ force to get them out."

I heard them both put on a pair of exam gloves, then saw their shapes move above me as they got to work. Thankfully I was out again after that, because that wasn't something I wanted to feel.

* * *

I awoke what felt like a long time later in a cot inside the medical tent, a sharp pain rising steadily in my side. I reached for it instinctively before I even opened my eyes and groaned.

"Easy, Colonel. You took quite a hit on that patrol today so just lay back."

My eyes fluttered open finally and I saw Doc Reynolds staring at me. "Doc?"

"Yes, ma'am. I hope you know how lucky you are, because had you been anyone else you might not've made it. How much do you remember?"

"Matt…tripped. Went to…help. Spikes in my…stomach."

Reynolds smiled weakly. "That's the gist of it. You'll notice you're not housing a mini-monument just beneath your ribcage anymore. We got 'em out without them bursting, so no harm done."

"R-really?"

He frowned. "Well, you'll be sore for a while, and we loaded you up with biofoam and saline solution to replenish the blood you lost – and keep what you still had in there in. The other IV's the painkiller. I know you hate this part, but you're going to have to take it easy for a few days."

I wanted to snort but I couldn't bring myself to make the motion just yet. "Should've…kept your mouth shut, Michael."

"Huh?"

A corner of my lips twitched. "Told you you…jinxed me with that…comment earlier. About me not…being your patient."

This time Reynolds grinned. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I should've known better than to think you wouldn't get mixed up in something out here. I'm just glad we were able to keep you on this side of the fence. Again."

"Yeah, me…too. T-thanks."

"No problem, ma'am." He turned to leave then and I figured it was so he could attend to other patients, but he said, "I'll let you get some rest now, Colonel. But first, there's a visitor here for you. Since you're not on the brink of death anymore it's okay with me, but he can't stay too long, all right?"

"Yeah, sure."

After Doc Reynolds left I lay there waiting for Matthew to come through the doorway. I wanted to give him the best lecture I could manage in regards to his brave but ultimately reckless grenade toss in the middle of the fight, and how it'd almost cost us both our lives – but he wasn't the one who walked in.

Ethan was.

"Natalie, are you okay? I heard what happened and I came to see you as fast as I could." He looked flustered and frowned, amending, "Well, as soon as the medics would let me in, anyway. They said since I wasn't family I had to wait."

"Get…out."

He gave me a puzzled look, like he'd misunderstood. "What?"

"You…heard me, Ethan. Out."

He released a long sigh. "Come on, Cooper. I know you don't like me, but I can't come check in on you when you almost died?"

Again I wanted to snort but couldn't. "Like you…give a shit. This is…no worse than…what you…did to me. Don't pretend like…you care now."

"I never used any kind of weapon on you."

"Your fist…was enough."

Much to my great annoyance, he stepped in closer and sat down on the chair beside the cot without replying. He didn't look at me, or say anything for a time. I didn't have the energy to fight him at the moment so I said nothing, too. I looked down at myself instead and saw I was still in my T-shirt and the pants of my fatigues, though my body armor and boots had been removed. There were bloodstains on the chain of my dogtags and down my shirt, and I could feel some caked blood on my neck and chin as well, making me itchy. So I'd probably only been out a few hours.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, Natalie," Ethan said softly then.

"Great. Apology not accepted. You can…leave now."

"I'm serious," he repeated, and he sounded sincere enough. "I really am sorry for what happened back then. It was wrong, and I should never have laid a hand on you. I was a messed up kid."

"Yeah, you were. We were both…just kids. I don't know how…you can…do something like that to…another person."

Ethan ran a hand over his short brown hair and let out another sigh. "I don't, either, to be honest. I made a mistake, Cooper, and believe me, I've had to live with it ever since."

Anger bubbled up inside me again, as it always did when my ex was near – or speaking. "No. _I've_ had to…live with it. I'm only…okay now because of…Willis and the Corps, and because…so many years…have gone by. But you want to…pity someone…it sure as hell…better not be yourself. Or me, because I'm…over it. It took me…years…but I'm done. I'm done…with it, Ethan."

"Then would you just talk to me again?" he asked.

I shook my head slowly. "No. You haven't…earned that yet."


	23. Chapter 22: News From the Front

**Chapter Twenty-Two: News From the Front**

**1014 Hours, July 30, 2558. UNSC Concord Naval Air Base, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Briefing," Planet Earth. Day Eleven of the War of Tomorrow**

After dropping the kids off at camp, Major William "Willis" Hawk drove quickly from his morning physical therapy session to his air wing's command headquarters, where his CO, Major Erin Collins – soon to be lieutenant colonel – had once again notified him of some important proceeding he needed to be present for. He still wasn't cleared for flight, but as long as he was within his allotted amount of time to get better, he was still the air wing's XO. Obviously Collins felt it necessary to keep him in the loop while the majority of their pilots were gone on a mission – somewhere with his wife's regiment.

Bringing up thoughts of Cooper made him frown. He knew it was silly of him to start to worry after only a week of not hearing from her while she was in the middle of a warzone, but he couldn't help it. And what made it worse was that the kids asked incessantly about her, too. Where she was, if she was okay, when she was coming home. Willis wondered all those things himself, so often he was at a loss as to what to say to their offspring. "I'm not sure where your mom is exactly, but I know she's doing fine and she'll come home just as soon as things are over," he answered.

Today had a different air about it, though, and he could feel something was wrong.

When he pulled up to the gate he showed no signs of anxiety, and gave a small smile to the guard as he handed the MP his military ID.

"Major Hawk, William Peter. UNSC Service Number 54210-36758-WH."

The MP glanced quickly at the card before handing it back. "Welcome back, sir. Go ahead and enter."

"Thanks, Sergeant."

Once inside the building Hawk pulled off his cover and received a number of salutes on the way to his CO's office. Again he felt a pang of hurt at that, like he always did. Being in the UNSC was the only life he'd known since the age of eighteen, when he and Cooper had been accepted into the Naval Academy on Reach together, on their way to becoming Marines. And he knew right off the bat he'd wanted to branch into flight school. He'd finally become a pilot at twenty when he was commissioned along with Natalie, and had excelled at it ever since, earning top accolades at a young age through his twenties. Now at thirty-one, if he was forced to give it all up at the end of the few months' extension he'd been given to heal, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He found that despite the hardships, he'd miss all of being in the Corps a lot.

_Don't think about that right now_, Willis reminded himself. _Talking up the negative only makes you give up. Believe you'll succeed, and you just might._

Since Collins's aide was indisposed this morning, the major rapped at the door to the office himself. He waited for his CO's command of "Enter," before he did so, approaching her desk with a courteous nod.

"Major Collins. Good morning."

"Good morning, Hawk. Have a seat. How's the therapy going?"

Willis made a face as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. "There's been some steady improvements, but so far they're just small ones. Not what I need yet."

Collins nodded, leaning back in her chair. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, Major. As long as you're progressing, though, even if only a little, it's not a lost cause."

"I know. I guess it's more the prospect of not getting back in a cockpit that bugs me."

His CO's expression brightened. "I'd like to see anyone or anything get in the way of that. Other pilots wouldn't have been able to come back from what you did, but I believe you'll make it. It's in your blood, Hawk. You were born for this." She paused, then added, "From what I heard, you weren't even supposed to survive that crash. But you did. Just keep fighting it."

"I do, every day." _I'll always fight for what I love,_ he thought.

"Good. And the homefront's not treating you too badly? Your life must be hectic with your wife gone on deployment and three young kids to look after."

Willis chuckled. "It definitely takes some juggling, but we're doing all right. Mostly we just miss Cooper."

"I'm sure she does as well." Collins suddenly gave him a pointed look. "And I'm also sure that part of your trepidation stems from the fact that you don't even know where she is, am I correct?"

"That's right. She wasn't allowed to tell me when she left, and she still hasn't been cleared even now that they're on the ground. Must be something big."

The other major leaned forward again, hands clasped together in front of her. "What if I told you _I'd _just been given clearance to let you know?"

Hawk's eyes widened a bit. "You know where she is? Where?"

Collins dug into the pocket of her uniform pants for her datapad and pulled it out, tapping the screen a few times before a projection of a metallic sphere hovered between them on the desk. "It's an…artificial planet called Requiem, in the Epoloch System. According to the two spooks there, the whole place has been a battleground for UNSC, Storm, and Promethean forces since around the time we landed on Khan several months ago. Your wife's regiment and the handful of squadrons from the air wing we sent there were part of the new wave of reinforcements. The fighting there has been…overwhelming, at times, I've heard."

"Damn," Willis whispered. "What the hell are all those factions doing there? And more Prometheans? An artificial planet…?"

Major Collins tapped her pad again and the display suddenly winked out of existence. "I'm sorry, Willis, but that's all I've been cleared to tell you. The spooks I got my information from were very clear on that."

_So there's more,_ Willis thought to himself. _I wonder how much of the picture I'm really missing. _He let out an internal sigh. _But at least I know where Cooper is now, and what she and my little brother are up against if nothing else._

"Why now and not before?" he asked then. "If this was supposed to be that big of a secret, why'd they decide to let us in on it now, too?"

His CO frowned. "Because the brass is worried that things over there might not go in their favor, even if a sudden surge of troops is successful at containing the Storm and Promethean units surrounding them."

Willis wondered about that for all of a few seconds before her true meaning dawned on him. "You mean the enemy might find another way off-planet. A portal system, like we found on Khan."

"Perhaps. I wasn't granted that level of access yet either to know for sure, but it sounds like that could be a definite possibility."

"Shit." Major Hawk ran a hand over his face, suddenly worried not only for Natalie and his brother, but his kids as well. "And HighCom thinks if they do leave, their target might be Earth?"

"Yes. So we have to start preparing the remainder of the air wing for that contingency. Are you ready to do that?"

Hawk nodded without a second thought. "Of course. I won't let anything happen to the place we've called home the last five years."

"Good. Then there's some things to discuss, which is why I called you to meet with me today."

Collins started to go on, but something was still bothering Willis. Something she'd said, besides the big glaring obvious. It was a smaller detail that nagged at the back of his brain. Finally it came to him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you said you got the intel from _two_ spooks on Requiem? Cooper and her regiment only left with one that I know of. Lieutenant Lloyd."

"That's true. But what was only recently released as general knowledge at our clearance level is that their transport ship stopped along the way to pick up another and his team." She tapped her datapad again and concentrated, presumably scanning through files. "Yes. The other spook is listed as Lieutenant Commander Ackerson."

The name sent a wave of shock rippling through him. There was only one Ackerson he knew of who was in the Navy, and the rank fit. But it couldn't be. Ethan Ackerson was dead, had been dead for nearly six years. There was no way he was with Cooper now…was there?

"Major? Are you all right?"

The question brought Willis abruptly out of his thoughts, but the doubt and puzzling curiosity remained. "I'm fine. Please, go ahead."

Mistaking his lapse for concern over the news she'd just told him about preparing for a potential Earth invasion, Collins sighed. "I realize it's a lot to take in. You've got your younger brother and your wife fighting on a volatile planet far from your reach, you're unable to directly influence events yourself at the moment, and now there's been a threat made on the human homeworld where you've made your family home post-War. I know you have a lot of stake in this, Hawk, and plenty of people you want to protect. I know you're frustrated that you're not in a place to do anything about it or help them out the way you normally would. But I assure you, if the Storm or the Prometheans get out of control on Requiem and find their way here, we'll be ready for them."

It wasn't that Willis wasn't worried about all of that, too. Deep down, if he was honest with himself, it scared him. He'd almost lost Natalie and Gabriel on many separate occasions during the War, and they _had_ lost their second child that they'd wanted so badly to the Covenant near its end. Willis knew firsthand that he had a lot to fear from another invasion so soon.

But it also worried him that someone like Ethan Ackerson might have somehow survived and was now stationed in the same area as his wife. He wondered what that might mean for Cooper, what Ethan might try to do, and more importantly…why – if it were true, and Ethan really _was_ on Requiem right now with Natalie – she'd said nothing about it.


	24. Chapter 23: Direct Hit

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Direct Hit**

**0345 Hours, July 31, 2558. Forerunner Shield World Surface, Requiem. "The Memories," Epoloch System. Day Twelve of the War of Tomorrow**

A week later I woke with a start in the middle of the night, as I'd been doing a lot lately - though thanks to the increased dose of my meds, I couldn't remember the nightmare that had forced me awake. It was some consolation but not a very big one, since with full consciousness also came a world of pain in my still-aching side.

I was upset with myself for getting hurt again, but I hadn't been about to sit back and do nothing while I watched my much-younger brother-in-law get killed. Since finding him alive on Khan a few months ago I'd begun to view him as I used to when I'd been dating Willis in our last year of high school – Matt was like another little brother of mine, too. He'd been there for me on Khan when I needed his help, and I was always prepared to do the same, even if I hadn't known how much his older brother cared for him.

Right now though that sense of duty was throwing me into a very painful void. I sat up in my bunk in my command quarters with a groan, holding onto my side as I moved, but that did little to stop the throbbing ache. I dragged myself over to the small desk beside my bed and shook out one of the painkillers Doc Reynolds had given me, swallowing it dry. I'd only been officially released from the medical tent just two days ago, although I'd been discreetly doing work before then. But the pain was still bad at times.

Since I didn't have anything else on hand to wash the pill down with, and I anticipated another long night of little sleep thanks to formless nightmares and my wound, I pulled out my bottle of brandy that I'd smuggled from Earth and poured myself a small glass. I wasn't supposed to be mixing alcohol with the painkillers, but I figured I'd survived a hell of a lot worse over the years, and the situation warranted it. I felt like the drink calmed me down a little as soon as I swallowed it, and the throb in my side dulled after another few minutes.

While I sat there wide awake in my chair, I found myself staring at the small framed photograph of my family I'd set up on the desk and thought of calling Willis. I hadn't spoken to him for about a week and I missed him a lot, especially on nights like these when I woke up suddenly from dreams and found that he wasn't lying beside me. I missed my kids even more, and I wondered if the three of them were holding up okay in my absence.

During the day I had plenty to keep me busy, even while I'd been recuperating in the medtent. But at night, if I wasn't asleep…sometimes I couldn't stand the quiet. I didn't like being alone with my thoughts, so I poured myself a second small glass of the amber liquid, downed it in one quick swill, and went to pull on my uniform pants, jacket, and boots to go outside.

Before I left I picked up my pistol holster out of habit - just in case - although I wasn't planning on going out near the perimeter with no helmet and no armor. I'd learned my lesson after nearly getting sniped to death on Khan, where I'd been fully armed and in full gear and still found myself lying dead on Doc's table for five minutes after the shots. If I wanted to get some air during the night, I did it within the sanctuary of the inner quad of the outpost now, and not completely outside with the watch.

I was marveling at the temperature drop at night in the desert when I heard a sudden noise on my six. I whipped around with my hand on my sidearm, still holstered but ready, yet stopped when I saw who the figure sitting behind me was.

"Jesus," I said, mildly irritated. "You didn't think it might've been nice to know you were there?"

The figure cloaked in the darkness chuckled. "It's funnier to watch you jump."

"Well, I'm armed and I've had a bit to drink, so you might want to rethink that plan."

"Hey, I was just sitting here minding my own business when you walked by. So it's really you encroaching on my territory."

I snorted. "Considering this is _my _outpost, you're wrong again." I frowned in the dark. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Probably same as you, I think. Couldn't sleep."

My tone took on a harder edge. "Because you've finally realized what crap you are?"

Ethan sighed. "Come on, Natalie. Are we back to that now?"

"We were never anywhere else. I didn't ever say I forgave you, and I definitely won't forget."

"I apologized to you a few days ago. I said I was sorry."

At that I almost laughed. "Please. You used to say you were sorry all the time, Ethan. It didn't mean much then, so why should I put any stock in it now?"

"Because it's different now," he replied quietly. "And I know you won't admit it to yourself and you don't like it, but I think deep down you know that."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Fine. Think what you want, but so long as we're both out here unable to catch zees, I'm going to go find myself another corner to sit in."

Ethan released a second sigh, more forceful this time. "Does Willis ever remark on how stubborn you are?"

"My relationship with my husband is none of your business, Ethan."

"Do you want to know how I survived Operation Everest or not?"

That made me pause. I'd been wanting to know ever since I'd seen him step onto our transport ship like he was back from the dead. I knew he realized I'd take the bait in a heartbeat and almost wanted to deny him that, but I wanted to find out what happened more. Grudgingly I inched closer.

"Okay," I said slowly, folding my arms across my chest. "Tell me how it went down and we'll see if I believe you. Keep in mind I'm not the only one who saw your body."

Now that I was standing nearer I could see Ethan roll his eyes.

"Yes. You told me Willis supposedly saw me, too."

"And your CO at the time, Lieutenant Commander Stephanie Glorio, confirmed your presence on the team. So how is it that you went from live human to animated-dead Flood beast and back?"

Ethan scoffed. "You believe the word of a woman who later went insane, by your own after-action report and others'?"

"So you read the files."

"Of course I did. ONI, remember?"

I frowned as an unpleasant thought came to mind. "Ethan, there's something else I've been wanting to ask you. You never…used your position to check up on me, did you?"

He shook his head. "No. After I got out, I really just wanted to put the whole thing behind me. My dad encouraged me to erase the…incident from my mind and move on, and focus on getting my schooling done and get a career going. He shipped me off to a military academy using his influence, since they wouldn't normally have taken me in after what I did, and I decided to stay. Threw myself into my studies, got a commission, and went on my first tour of duty aboard a battered frigate." He looked up then and smirked a little. "Did a good tour of duty with the girls on board, too."

I snorted a laugh. "You always were a charmer. I bet that got you into a lot of beds."

"Never in yours, though."

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "I was waiting for it to feel right. It started to that second summer we were together, and I thought I was falling for you." I took a deep breath. "But then you started changing, and all I felt after that was scared and hurt."

"And then your Willis came swooping in to save the day." Ethan said it more with self-deprecation than bitterness, so I let it go.

"He was there for me and a good friend. Things just progressed naturally from there once you left. I owe most of what I am today to him."

"Don't sell yourself short, Cooper." Ethan ran a hand over his hair. "I promise I didn't check up on you in the past, and I read about Everest only because I was supposed to be there and was curious as to how it turned out. But I did peek into your CSV a bit when I found out we'd be getting posted together this time around." He gestured vaguely to my uniform. "And it's not hard to see you're a cut above the rest. Willis is what, a major now? And I'm still an O-4, too. You've already got a leg up on your peers and were getting ready for more before we got the call."

"You know I was at War College on Earth, then," I stated.

"Yeah. Not everyone gets in there, you know. Especially at our age."

"So I've heard." I glanced down at my boots, thinking about what he'd said. "You mentioned Operation Everest and how you were supposed to be there. What do you mean?"

"Technically I didn't 'survive' anything because I wasn't there," he finally answered. "I got my orders to ship and to report to Lieutenant Commander Glorio to be part of the team; that much was true. I received a data packet on the mission and everything. By then I'd been a spook for two years, and I was even billed as being her second-in-command during the operation. But my father got wind of it, and he refused to send me there. Said it was too dangerous."

"Because of the Flood," I guessed.

Ethan nodded. "My dad was a lot of things, as you know, and not so much concerned about my fate as the general idea of losing his son – his heir, you could say. So he wasn't about to send his kid in what looked to be a giant death trap from the start.

"He tried to get me off the team the usual way, exerting his influence, but on this the brass weren't willing to budge. We'd lost a lot of good operatives in the War, humanity was down to the wire, and now not even I could be protected as much as Dad would've liked. They said my orders were set and I had to go. I went back to my room aboard the ship I was on at the time and started packing, but then my dad came up with something else."

I frowned again, wondering where he was going with this, but my ex didn't pause long in his story.

"Since I couldn't officially avoid going, my dad looked into finding someone to go in my place." He scratched at the side of his head, like he still couldn't believe his father had managed to pull it off. "I'd never worked with Commander Glorio before so as long as the papers and the look matched, he knew she wouldn't know the difference. The trick was finding a spook who was the same rank and looked enough like me that my new team wouldn't notice a swap."

"Fuck, Ethan."

He swallowed. "I know. I shouldn't have gone along with it; we would've both gotten in big trouble if I'd been found out, not to mention the poor unlucky shit who had to go in my place. But it was my dad, and you know I never had the balls to stand up to him. Eventually he found someone to do it, and apparently paid him a considerable sum to play his part – along with promises of…'advancing' his career once it was over." Then he shrugged. "Guy never came back, though, so I guess it wasn't really worth it."

"Worked out well for you, though."

"It did and it didn't. I wasn't consumed by the Flood like the guy you saw and thought was me, but it's not a good feeling to know another sailor died in your place. I think you can attest to the fact that I didn't grow up with the highest morals, but I was taught a lot of things a couple years later in the UNSC that I did take to heart. Duty and sacrifice and service to my fellow Navy – and later ONI – crewmembers were among them. I felt like I'd completely turned my back on my oath as an officer, and that stuck."

I gave him a look. "And was part of your epiphany being a dick to your colleagues? Because I haven't seen your attitude changed very much so far, at least when you spoke to Cal that first time."

Again he shrugged, and a corner of his lips turned up. "I didn't say I turned into a saint overnight. Some things don't change, at least not that radically. But I guess I'd say I'm a little less bad than before."

"Wow. What an amazing improvement," I responded dryly.

At that Ethan laughed, a genuine sound I hadn't heard from him in many years. "All right, fine. Then I'll say I'm not that good, but not that bad anymore, either. Better?"

This time I was the one who shrugged in reply. "Yeah. That'll work. Although I've yet to see a whole lot that would push me in the direction of believing you've changed."

"I have," he said sincerely. "With you, I mean. You're not afraid of much anymore, and you don't let people push you around. You're solid and resolute, yet caring, and your men love you for that. I can see it. You've turned into a very impressive woman, Natalie Cooper."

Coming from anyone else I would've been flattered by the compliment, but this was Ethan. Despite what I'd said, I could tell from our talk tonight that he had changed to some degree over the years, too. My dilemma was whether or not to believe it. I'd heard him pronounce his altered ways so many times before in the past, only to get the notion violently knocked out of my head, that it was going to take me more time to determine if this was real or not.

So instead of answering him directly, I said, "Thanks for telling me what happened. I was curious to know."

I turned to leave then before he could say anything else, and I could almost feel his confused stare boring into my back. I didn't turn around though, and instead headed back to my quarters to think. Before I hadn't wanted to be alone with my mind swirling, but now, I had a lot more to ruminate.

I'd just pulled off my jacket and boots and dropped onto my bunk, side still aching dully and hands meshed behind my head as I laid back, when I heard a sudden loud sound not too far off. I was back on my feet in an instant, heart hammering in my chest, and then there was a pounding at my door.

"Natalie! Wake up!"

"Christ, I'm awake," I muttered, upset that Ethan would come bother me here. "I don't fall asleep that damn fast, even if I could." Once I opened the door, I stared at him crossly. "What the hell was that about?"

"One of the outer mines just exploded outside the outpost," Ethan replied, nearly breathless. "We're under attack."


	25. Chapter 24: A Fire Burns Bright

**Chapter Twenty-Four: A Fire Burns Bright**

After I scrambled into the rest of my gear I rushed out, battle rifle in hand and helmet on my head, and went towards the front entrance of Outpost Xavier. My outpost. The one I'd come all the way out here to expand and defend. And whatever was attacking us now would know it.

"Any idea which of our enemies rang the doorbell?" I shouted at Ethan as I ran.

"Not sure!" he yelled back. "I just heard the explosion, Colonel, same as you!"

_Colonel._ We were back to formalities, which suited me just fine. Especially given the fact that we were approaching the perimeter watch now and others would be present. A part of me hoped he wouldn't stick too close and that we could split up soon.

"Marines, what's the report from the forward OP?" I said, addressing the men and women waiting at the front with their rifles raised.

All I got in response was a shake of the head from one of the squad leaders. "Don't know, ma'am. We didn't get any report from the OP. Just that first hit that got us moving."

_Shit._ That wasn't a good sign. I gripped my rifle tighter to my middle. "Where's Captain Diaz?"

"Here, ma'am," the former acting outpost commander answered, coming toward me down the line of Marines at a fast clip. "I can confirm what Sergeant Zuhl said. Nothing from the OP, Colonel."

"Then they're either asleep at the wheel or dead," I said plainly. "Neither of which bodes well for us. Let's get these men organized, Captain, and alert the snipers on the cliffs that we've got company."

"Right away, ma'am."

"Sergeant Zuhl?"

"Colonel?"

"Make sure the machine gunners are in place as well, and stocked with ammo. We might just have a scouting patrol coming up in the dark, but we could have something big, too."

"Yes, ma'am."

No sooner had I given my orders than another explosion rocked the ground several meters out. I flinched but didn't quite duck at the sound, knowing it was too far off to do us any damage yet. But something was definitely coming. I turned to my ex next.

"Ethan, go wake Major Brewer and Lieutenant Lloyd while I oversee things out here. She's usually in the command tent but I'd bet they're asleep in their quarters now. Or were. We're going to need their help."

I wasn't quite sure how he was going to take a direct command from me, but much to my surprise, he didn't answer with a smart remark this time. He just nodded and obeyed.

"Right. On it."

As soon as he left I gave my entire focus to the task at hand, opening a COM channel immediately to my other battalion commanders. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper! Everyone needs to gear up now! The outpost is under attack! We need all hands on deck so get your men ready! Major Delaney?"

"Ma'am?"

"I need your Marines at the entrance ten minutes ago. Major Harris!"

My former battalion XO was slow to respond, probably just now coming out of a deep sleep. "Colonel?"

"Keep your Marines in reserve but prepare. We might need them soon."

"Yes, ma'am!"

With that out of the way, I went down the forward line of Marines to look for Diaz again. When I found him, I grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. "Captain, do you have your field binoculars on you?"

He looked puzzled in the dark. "Yes, ma'am. Why?"

"Hand them over. I need to see what the hell happened at the damn OP…and what's out there heading for us."

I'd left mine in my quarters in my rush to leave. I lifted the captain's now to the rim of my helmet and took a long, sweeping look through them. The forward observation post seemed empty, just as I'd feared, but I couldn't tell for sure this far out. I'd have to send a team over to confirm their status later. What I saw in the meantime, though, was a whole lot of Prometheans gunning for our lines in the middle of the night.

"Fuck."

"Colonel?"

For a second I'd forgotten Diaz was even there. "It's not good, Captain," I said, shoving his binoculars back in his grasp. "OP looks abandoned, and the Prometheans are on their way. Stay sharp."

Even in the dark I saw Captain Diaz's face blanch. The outpost was in much better shape now than when I'd found it, and we had much better defenses set up and lots more troops to help keep the enemy at bay, but that was more AI-bots than I'd ever seen gathered in one spot…more than on Qamar, too. Unless our mines magically blew up half of them, we were in for a fierce fight.

* * *

I felt helpless as the Marines on the forward line and I just sat waiting while the Prometheans teleported in. Closer and closer, sometimes landing on a mine and sending a few of the bastards bursting into fiery sparks, but sometimes not. Sometimes we weren't that lucky, and until the mechanical things got into range of our weapons, there was nothing more we could do to stop them.

Finally a few sniper rifles opened up behind us, high above the rest of the outpost from the cliffs. I watched in the dark as more bright sparks filled the sky, but I knew that picking them off one by one wasn't going to reduce the force by that much by the time they got here, and the mines had been a precaution only – enough to give us a warning of their approach in case the OP failed to, but not enough blasting power to get rid of a large mob. And that's what I saw them as: overwhelming and thirsty for blood.

"Holy shit. I've never seen that many of them before," Major Justin Delaney whispered beside me, gesturing his Marines to take up positions near the wall.

I snorted, itching to be on the forward line myself but purposely holding back a bit, knowing that more than an extra gun on hand, my Marines needed their leader alive right now. "Neither have I, Major. And I've been in worse shit than this before."

"Damn. What the hell are they?"

"Sort of like AIs, but I like to call them robots." My grin was faint, but I hoped it put him a little more at ease. "Watch out for the EMP grenades they like to toss into the fray. They'll frazzle your helmet electronics and tag you while you're disoriented from the reboot."

"Right."

Our forward MGs opened up then, and there wasn't much to hear after that above the din. I raised up my rifle now that the enemy was in range, using my scope to pick off a few Watchers and help deal some damage against the Knights they hovered around. My aching side made itself felt with each buck of the gun, held tight against my shoulder to keep it stable, but I ignored the pain and went on.

"Got your XO and the other spook here, ma'am," I heard Ethan say behind me then.

I nodded curtly, distracted. "Great. Send them over. I need you to do something else for me."

"What is it?"

"I have to know what happened to our Marines out at the OP. I can take a pretty good guess from what I saw, but I'd like to be sure. Gather up your team and go. Just remember to keep your heads down, and don't attract any attention your way. There's a lot more of them out there than you."

Ethan gave me a look. "Natalie, I _have_ done this before, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But like I said, there's a ton of those robotic bastards out there, and I don't want to send more of my men to their deaths. Be quick about it."

"Yes, ma'am."

My security detail arrived shortly after that, surrounding me as the first Prometheans reached the outer wall. Lieutenant Caleb Lloyd came in amongst them, gripping his own battle rifle tight.

"Ma'am, what's going on?" he shouted over the noise.

"A mine went off just outside the perimeter a few minutes ago!" I yelled in return. "Prometheans! We had no warning. Looks like the OP got hit hard and fast before they could get the message out. I sent Lieutenant Commander Ackerson and his team to investigate!" I glanced around, curious when I didn't see my XO. "Where's Brewer?"

"She split off and headed for the far side of the wall to help with the defense! Said you probably wouldn't want the two of you so close in case something happens."

"Good thinking."

"Anything I can do?"

"Join the fight, Lieutenant! We could use the firepower."

I wanted to give him something more concrete to work on, but the wave of teleporting enemies reached our position too fast. As I lifted my rifle to squeeze off rounds of my own, I saw one of the Knights quickly bound the wall and stab one of the machine gunners right through his chestplate with its purple blade. I rapidly switched my aim and fired a series of bursts at the tall Promethean, making mechanical noises as it took the hits, until one of its Watchers showed up, trailing smoke. Staff Sergeant Lynch started to raise his SAW to bring it down, but it managed to shoot at us first.

I grabbed my aide and pulled him into cover just as the spray of lights rounds rushed at us. They hit the top of the low barricade we were crouched behind, making most of what I could see a flash of yellow-orange pinpricks. It was then that I knew we had to find some other means of stemming the tide or we'd be toast – and there wasn't enough space up here to bring in a whole other battalion to help.

"Heat, it's Cooper!" I shouted over the COM, finally deciding to hail the pilots still camped out at the LZ. "We could use a squadron in the air right now!"

"Got it, Colonel! Just tell us where you want us. I'll scramble the birds."

In Willis's absence his former wingmate, Captain Brandon Heat, had taken over my husband's Kilo Squadron. The other that had come with us that Willis was also normally in charge of, Victor, had been given over to another captain in the air wing since Heat didn't have as much leadership experience. I wondered how things would go with Brandon at the helm, but I guess I was about to find out.

Turning to face the spook as light rounds continued to assault our position, I said to him next, "Cal, as soon as we take care of this bastard I want you to get us the exact coordinates of the minefield we placed. Make sure Commander Ackerson and his team are out of the blast zone, then call it in. We've got our air support coming in hot!"

Lieutenant Lloyd lifted an eyebrow. "You're blowing the rest of the minefield, ma'am?"

I couldn't help the small grin that spread across my face. "Can't think of a better way to turn these AI-bots into sparking scrap. It'll enhance the blast of the payload our flyboys are carrying and blow a bunch of these things to hell."

But first we needed the Knight and the Watcher out of the way. With the other Marines nearby busy with their own targets, I chanced popping up out of cover at the same time as my aide let loose a long burst from his SAW, causing the Knight – caught off-guard and nearly at point-blank range now – to warp into thousands of particles of light. It all happened while I fired off a precise burst from my battle rifle at the same time, bringing the pesky, smoking Watcher down around its charge.

I rose up the minute the mechanical beings were gone and cried, "Cal, now!"

"On it!"

While the spook got a hold of Ethan and fed the pilots the coordinates we needed, I motioned to Staff Sergeant Lynch to have my security detail move out with me to new cover. A group of Captain Diaz's Marines – part of the original contingent of the outpost – were fighting hard in front of us, getting a run for their money with a pack of Crawlers who were attempting to scramble over the wall. Sparks flew out on our twelve as one of the Marines pulled out his combat knife and shoved it hard into the body of the doggy AI, damaging it to some degree, but not enough. Thankfully his battle buddy took up the mantle in the next moment and shot the robotic animal dead with his magnum, saving his friend.

_We better get those wings up soon,_ I thought to myself as we moved. _We've got the whole Promethean army on our ass._

My first order of business when we reached cover was hailing Captain Heat again – or at least that's what I wanted it to be before the shots rang out.

I ducked my head for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few minutes when more Crawlers lunged over the wall. One of them had an SMG-like light weapon that made mince-meat of the fireteam of Marines ahead of us, downing three men and two women in a flash of a second. Lynch was proactive once again and shoved me down hard behind cover before the next burst, then rose up with his SAW and took out the head group in one sweep. Only then did he let me go.

"Colonel, are you all right?"

Wincing from the sudden intense pain in my side, I grit my teeth and nodded. "Yeah. I'm good." Although the jarring of my still-healing wound hurt so bad I wanted to puke.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, ma'am. I didn't want you getting killed."

"I…appreciate that, Staff. Thanks."

Without warning, another two Crawlers leapt over the side, clearing the dead bodies in front of us in their jump and bowling into Lynch before he could react. For my part, I sucked up the hurt and slung my rifle behind my back, unholstered my pistol and pounced onto the AI-bot's back, shooting it point-blank until its body finally sparked and shut down. I had just enough time to look down at the staff sergeant and see he was okay before the second metallic Fido crashed into my ribs and pinned me against another barricade, making me scream in pain.

"_Colonel!_"

In some way I still couldn't quite piece together, the doggy bot shot off a couple of point-blank rounds itself, trying to kill me with its gun since it hadn't managed with its bulk – yet. I could feel my skin break open again where I'd been patched up and felt the thick liquid ooze down the side of my stomach. If I didn't bleed out or get shot to death, this Promethean was determined to do it for me.

I struggled against the mechanical beast as best I could, but the pain was taking over and I was still too weak from all the action to do myself much good. At one point the thing reared back to headbutt me again – probably right on my wound a second time, which I had no doubt would knock me unconscious from the hurt. I tried to move out of the way in time but I couldn't, and so I braced myself against the barricade to take the hit.

That's when I heard the enraged growl off to the side. From a human.

In seconds a Marine had gone crashing into the Crawler, forcing it off me as it tackled the thing to the ground. I heard half of a pistol clip being emptied into the robotic being, and then all that was left beside me was a heaping pile of scrap metal in the dirt.

It took me a moment to realize that it hadn't been a Marine at all; the battledress uniform wasn't right. His was black, almost impossible to see in the dark, although I recognized his face as soon as he turned to look at me. Ethan.

"You're back," I croaked, still in a haze of pain and getting lightheaded from the blood seeping past the bandages underneath my fatigues. The side of my T-shirt was already soaked through and wet, and I could feel my uniform jacket getting damp, too. "The OP…?"

Ethan shook his head, rising to a crouch behind the barricade to make his way back to me. "Gone, Colonel. Everyone inside was already dead. Stab wounds. Knights must've teleported in first so they couldn't alert us."

"Shit."

He was beside me then and already moving to pick me up. "You're welcome for saving you, by the way. Let's get you to Doc."

I grabbed hold of his arm to stop him. "Pilots?"

Ethan smiled in the dark. "On their way, Cooper. It'll be over soon."

* * *

I heard the subsequent bombardment from inside the medical tent, as I lay on Reynolds's table once again getting pumped full of new biofoam and IV fluid before he wrapped up my side in a fresh bandage. Ethan stood off to the side with his arms folded across his chest, watching the medic work since he was the one who'd brought me in and Doc had had to get to it fast to stop the bleeding. Luckily Reynolds hadn't needed to take off my shirt to do the job, just rolled up the lower half to cover my bra and expose my stomach. Otherwise I'd have insisted Ethan sit this one out. Way out.

"So, Doc…am I still alive?" I asked him, still feeling a little foggy from the hit.

Reynolds gave me a look. "Yes, ma'am. Although I can't stress how important it is to stay out of trouble while your body's trying to heal." He frowned. "You know if it were up to me, you'd still be on bed rest."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I've…got a regiment to run, and I can't…control when the Prometheans come in to…kick our ass."

The medic snorted. "Uh-huh. Just make sure we've still got a commander at the end of all this, okay?"

I smiled weakly. "I will."

As Doc turned to leave he glanced over at Ethan, but didn't say anything. I pulled down my blood-soaked T-shirt and pushed myself up to a half-sitting position once he was gone, leaning back on my arms – although that hurt as well.

"Damn," I muttered to myself, wincing. "I hope that kid is grateful for what I did, because I'm sure paying for it."

"What kid?" my ex asked.

"Matt. He's the one I was trying to get out of the way when I got hit."

"And how do you know he didn't do it on purpose to get you killed?"

I glanced up sharply at him. "He wouldn't, Ethan. He did what any good Marine does and went out to do something brave to protect his own. He's just new at this stuff so he couldn't get it done in time by himself. I had to help."

Ethan snorted. "You have a lot of trust in someone who was our enemy when you met, and who'd been missing from your lives for that long."

"How do _you_ know that? I thought you said you didn't read my file."

"I didn't. That much I found out about the regular way when I was still in jail – everyone heard about that ship carrying school kids getting hit by the Covies. The ship's manifest was public and I read the names. I know Willis's baby brother was among them."

"And you just _happen_ to know he survived and where he came from?"

"Obviously I looked into _his_ file. But no, I didn't get that info snooping through yours."

I frowned then but eased up. That actually made sense. "Okay, whatever," I said, more with resignation than heat. "I'm not talking about this with you. Thanks for getting me out of a tough spot back there and bringing me to Doc."

Ethan stopped me when I started to get up. I shot him a deep glare and opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it.

"Why do you trust the little reb so much? I know you'd probably say he's family so it doesn't matter, but you and I both know a lot can change in that many years. What makes you think he isn't playing you and your husband precisely because he _knows_ the two of you will forgive anything he does?"

"That's none of your business," I retorted, this time with definite heat. "And for starters, he didn't land me in the fucking hospital, even if it was fourteen years ago. He's a good kid and has done exactly _nothing_ to make me feel like any of us should be threatened by him. You, you've done a lot. So yeah, I'll take his word over yours any day."

As I pushed past him and got up, my ex released a sigh.

"Natalie, I'm not trying to get back on your shitlist. I just want you to be aware of what might be going on around you, since I know this isn't something Willis would be too wary of. His judgment's clouded by his love for his brother. He still sees a kid where there's now a grown man who hasn't been around his real family since he was seven. You have to be careful for the both of you, or you could get hurt."

At that I stood face-to-face with him and scowled. "Are you suggesting my husband isn't capable of protecting me and our family? Really? Because I remember him kicking the shit out of you when you tried to come near me after what happened. He'd never put me or our kids in danger like that. For anything."

Ethan took the jab in stride and sighed. "Just think about it for a second, Nat. Since you left Khan Matthew's not only found a way into the Inner Colonies, right on Earth, but also wheedled his way into the UNSC Marines. Even at his rank, imagine how fucking beneficial that would be to his rebel buddies back in Redwood Falls if he were in contact with them right now. He could be telling them all about what we find out here."

I shook my head. "No. You're wrong. And I don't have time for this, Ethan. I've got a regiment to run and an outpost to secure. But back. Off. Matt."

I left him standing there alone in the room. For once he didn't try to come after me, and for that I was grateful. I had enough on my plate right now between the attack and my wound that I just didn't have the energy to deal with him, too.

* * *

"Bombing run complete, ma'am," Captain Heat said over the COM once I'd replaced my helmet. "Should be good to go now, Colonel. Just stragglers from what we can see up here."

"Right, we'll mop them up. Good work, Heat."

"Thanks, Cooper. Till next time."

With the number of Marines we had on hand, mop-up duty took all of ten minutes. By then the entrance to Outpost Xavier looked like one big, blackened blast zone, with the OP completely gone and the minefield nothing but a rocky, cratered mess. But the huge unit of Prometheans who'd assaulted the compound were dead now, and no longer a threat. And as I looked out at the aftermath of the chaos, I realized that this was an opportunity.

I went to look for Lieutenant Lloyd since I couldn't stand talking to Ethan right now and got his attention. He jogged up to me and stood straight before me, out of respect.

"Ma'am. Hell of a battle, but we did it."

"Yeah. I'm glad to see you made it out okay. Major Brewer?"

Lloyd smiled slightly. "Safe as well, ma'am. She's busy getting the battalion commanders gathered for a debrief."

"Excellent. Tell her I'll be right there, just as soon as we've got this place secure again."

"Will do, Colonel."

He turned to go, thinking that's what I'd called him over for, but I stopped him.

"Cal, one more thing."

The ONI operative turned back. "What's that?"

"Once we have things situated, I want you to get the scientists out here to take a look around," I said. "There's tons of downed Prometheans and their weapons out here for them to sift through, and they wouldn't have to go too far out to find them. We can protect them a lot better from here than we'd be able to out on patrol. That way they can start their studies."

Lloyd nodded. "Sounds good. I'll let them know."

"Thanks." _I hope that'll get us home quicker,_ I thought to myself.

I wasn't exactly sure what information the UNSC was fishing for out here, but I did know that the faster they got it, and the faster the enemy was contained, the sooner I could get my Marines and I off this shield planet.


	26. Chapter 25: Those We Left Behind

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Those We Left Behind**

**1756 Hours, August 4, 2558. Cooper-Hawk Residence, Pensacola, Florida, United States. "The Letter," Planet Earth. Day Sixteen of the War of Tomorrow**

"All right, G-man, show me what you got!"

Willis tried to stifle a smile as his eight-year-old son got a determined look on his face, staring him down. With his green eyes showing his state of intense concentration, along with the deep crease of his brow, Gabriel looked just like his mother in that moment. The same color irises, the same tenacity, the same desire to win, were written all over his expression.

"Here comes, Dad!"

"Okay, buddy! Boot it!"

Gabriel gave the goal behind his father one last glance before getting in behind the soccer ball and kicking it hard. The ball launched forward in a slight arc and went right past Willis's reaching hand, sinking into the left corner of the net. Gabe was already letting out a whoop as the senior Hawk landed sideways in the grass.

"Yeah! I beat you!"

Major Hawk pushed himself up from the ground in one swift motion, noticing with pleasant surprise that he could do so without any wince of pain. He was continuing to improve, then, and the therapy was finally starting to help. It boded well for his attempt at salvaging his career as an aviator – even if he still couldn't play his oldest son's favorite sport for shit.

"Nice work, Gabe," he said, looking up at his little boy's wide grin. "Now get back in line. We'll give your brother and sister another try, too."

Gabe obeyed but hunched his shoulders a little in disappointment. Willis would've figured that with all the hours his son spent playing the sport during camp that he'd be sick of it when he got home, but Gabriel was actually still rearing to go if given the chance to play with his dad and siblings. Willis though it had some to do with the game itself, and a lot to do with the fact that the boy missed his mother, and enjoyed spending time with the rest of his family at the end of the day in her absence.

_We all miss you, Coop,_ Hawk thought to himself then as Olivia stepped up to the soccer ball next. Being four years younger than their older brother, she and Liam were allowed to bring the ball closer to the goal before giving it a shot. _I know things can get crazy in the field, but it'd be nice if you gave us a call soon. Just to know you're okay._

"I'm gonna kick it, Daddy! Watch out!"

"Go ahead, sweetheart."

Unlike her brother, Olivia took no time at all to line up her shot and stare intimidatingly at their dad. She just ran up to the ball and kicked hard, sending it careening against the far post as it bounced forward again, landing in the grass a few feet ahead of her. Gabriel giggled behind her at her performance, to which Olivia turned around and gave him the stink eye, but Willis was impressed.

"Very good, Liv! That almost went in! Now let Liam try."

Little Liam approached the ball in much the same way his twin sister had, but showed he had a little more Cooper in him by looking right at Willis first. His eyes were what gave him away, though – they were hazel like his dad's.

"Daddy, it's coming!"

Willis gestured for him to go ahead. "Let 'er rip, son!"

At the last second Liam's attentive expression morphed into a grin as he kicked the ball towards the goal. Unfortunately for him he sent the soccer ball sailing straight into his father's chest, blocking it before he could score.

"_Aww!_" Liam cried, looking up at the sky in frustration with his little fists balled up.

The major just smiled. "Li, it's okay, bud! That was a good try!"

"But I didn't beat Gabe!"

Smirking – and again looking a lot like his mother in the gesture – Gabriel walked up to his little brother and said, "That won't happen for a while, Li. But Dad's right. It was a good shot." He took possession of the soccer ball with his left foot and kicked it around between his left and right in front of Liam. "You want to fake out the goalie next time. I can show you if you want."

"Me, too?" Olivia asked.

"Yup. Come 'ere."

Willis's smile broadened as he made his way over to his kids. Gabriel was turning into a good older brother, doing his best to focus less on Cooper's being gone and more on helping his siblings cope. Hawk was proud of him and he knew Natalie would be, too. _If she were here_, he thought._ And if she'd call so I could tell her._

Just then Willis heard a _click_ on the outer gate going into the backyard. Someone had just come in. He pulled out his datapad to check the camera feed positioned at the top of the fence, but stopped short when he saw who it was. He whipped around.

"Jamie?"

"Hey, big bro. Do you let just anyone walk right through the door to your yard?" His younger sister shook her head. "Security's that lax around here, huh?"

Willis smirked and pointed out the video clip on his datapad. "Not even. Caught you red-handed."

"Shit. I mean, shoot." Jamie corrected herself, noticing the proximity of the kids. She glanced at her older brother and mouthed, "Sorry."

The major waved her apology away. "It's okay. It happens from time to time. So…what're you doing out here? It's good to see you."

Both Hawks broke into big grins then as they hugged each other, and then Jamie went to smother her niece and nephews in greeting as well.

"Well, actually I was hoping to catch Matt and Natalie before they left, but I guess I was a little late to that party," she said. "Finally got some leave so I decided to come see how you and the kids were holding up."

"We're doing all right. Just waiting to hear from Cooper again. It's been almost two weeks, although she let me know last time that things were kind of dicey out there."

"Out where?"

Willis shook his head. "I can't say. I didn't even know myself until a few days ago."

"Oh," Jamie replied, drawing out the word. "Look at my big brother, suddenly privy to top secret operations."

Hawk chuckled. "Not all the time. Want to head inside with us?"

"Sure."

As they went up the steps onto the deck, Olivia tugged on the hem of his shorts.

"Daddy, I'm thirsty."

"Me, too," Liam said.

"Me three!" Gabe cried, running past his father, aunt, and siblings and into the house. "And I'm first!"

"No fair!" Liam whined, rushing after him.

"Hey, wait for me!" Olivia yelled.

That left just Willis and Jamie out back, and his sister started to laugh.

"Were we that bad as kids, too?"

Willis scratched at the side of his head. "I'd like to say no, but…I bet Mom and Dad would think different."

Jamie just grinned wider. "I think you're right."

They went inside after the kids then and Willis pulled out a jug of lemonade from the fridge and poured everyone a glass. Everyone except Liam, who hated the sour taste of the stuff, and got a cold cup of fruit punch instead.

As soon as Olivia and the boys were settled with their drinks, Willis ushered them into the living room and flicked on the holoscreen.

"Okay, guys. Go ahead and relax for a bit while I talk to your aunt Jamie," he said. "We'll be just outside on the deck. Stay where we can see you. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Daddy," Liam whined. "I wanna watch cartoons in the bedroom."

"Oh, no. You guys aren't going on Mommy and Daddy's bed all sweaty like that. Baths first. In a little bit."

Liam frowned but said nothing, eventually getting wrapped up in what his siblings were doing. The three of them crowded onto the carpet together just in front of the couch to watch what was happening on-screen.

Willis turned back to his sister. "They'll be good for a half-hour or so," he said. Jamie nodded and they walked outside.

Once they'd situated themselves out on the deck chairs, where they had a clear view of the living room and the kids, Willis took a sip of his drink as his sister smirked at him from behind her sunglasses.

"So how goes the forced celibacy?"

Willis almost choked on the liquid in his mouth, then gave her a look. "I miss Cooper a lot, if that's what you're asking. And not just for that." He sighed, leaning back. "It's almost been a month since she left, Jame, and I've only heard from her once. I know that's not too bad considering, but…we're not really used to being separated for this long anymore. Hasn't happened to us in quite a few years."

"Then there's the kids," Jamie remarked.

"Yeah. They miss her, too. Gabe especially, although he tries not to show it. He understands more of what's going on than the twins, so he gets how dangerous her being deployed can be. He knows there's a chance she might not come back."

"I'm not sure that's possible. Natalie's gotten herself out of a lot of tough scrapes in the past."

"No argument there, but your luck runs out sometime, right?" He looked down at his sneakers, feeling somewhat strange in his civilian clothes. "She was having a real hard time before she left. Nightmares and crying and drinking. I'm worried about her being back in the fray when she's been dealing with so much on her own lately." _Not to mention this whole thing with Ethan…_ he added silently to himself. That he still wasn't sure what to make of. He didn't even know if the guy was really alive or not. But it bothered him just the same.

Jamie leaned in closer and put a reassuring hand on her big brother's shoulder. "She's not alone, Will. She's got you."

"Yeah." He set his drink down on the table behind them and folded his arms across his chest. "I think as demanding as it was, War College was actually good for her. It gave her the feeling of being in the middle of things without the risk, and she got to come home and be around family at the end of the day and most weekends. It was giving her a much-needed break. But then those idiots at HighCom decided to ship her off again when we'd just gotten home, so…" He left it at that and shrugged.

"I get it, bro. It sucks. But that's what we all signed up for."

"Yup."

She gave his arm a light punch then. "What about you? Back in the saddle yet?"

Willis rolled his eyes. "You mean the cockpit?"

"Yeah. How's your inspiring return to flight going?"

"More hard work than inspiration, but I think I'm finally getting better. I'm all healed up from the wounds physically, but now I'm starting to get some of the flight motions back. Nothing major yet – "

"But some improvement is better than none," she finished.

"Right."

"And Matt?"

"He's chugging along. Excited to be a full-fledged Marine now. I'm sorry you didn't get to see him before he left."

"It's okay. We talked over datapad when he was at Mom and Dad's and I was still aboard ship. Can't wait to see him, though. I don't think I'll still be here by the time he gets back."

Willis quirked an eyebrow at her. "How long are you planning on staying?"

"A few weeks, maybe. I figure I can help you with the kids while you mount your comeback."

"And the Navy's letting you?"

She shrugged. "I had the leave time accrued and got it cleared. Won't be a problem if it's not one for you."

"Of course not, little sis," Willis said with a smile. "We'd love to have you."

She smiled back. "Good. Because I – "

Just then the front door chimed, startling them both. Through the sliding glass door they watched the kids' ears perk up, too, as they froze in their places on the carpet, looking out at their dad to see what to do.

Willis glanced at his sister with a half-grin at the kids' reactions as he got up. "I guess that's my cue."

He was still wearing an amused expression when he opened the door…and his heart sank in an instant.

"Jamie!" he called before he addressed the man and woman in uniform in front of him. "Take the kids outside for a sec, okay?"

He didn't wait to hear his sister's answer. His started feeling lightheaded and felt like he couldn't breathe, but he tried. "Captain," he acknowledged. "Sergeant."

The man and woman in dress uniform nodded back. "Major Hawk, sir. Sorry to disturb you. We'd like to – "

Willis ran a nervous hand over his short hair. "Look, whatever it is, whatever's happened to my wife or my little brother, just tell me."

The woman nodded and took in a deep breath. "Your wife, Lieutenant Colonel Natalie Cooper, has been wounded in action, sir. The details are still forthcoming, but we're told she's recovering and out of danger now. You'll understand we still needed to make the official notification regardless."

Hawk felt the air slowly leave his lungs as he sagged in relief. Cooper was hurt but okay. That explained the long delay in communication as well. "Yes. I understand. Thanks for letting me know, Captain."

"Have a good day, sir."

As soon as he shut the door again he turned around and closed his eyes, leaning back against it. Yet another close call. _Jesus, Coop,_ he thought to himself. _You have to stop doing this to me. And to them,_ he added when he opened his eyes to see a wide-eyed Gabe, Liam, and Liv staring at him in confusion.

"Dad?" Gabriel asked in a quivering voice. "Is Mom okay?" He knew what uniforms at the house meant, even if his younger siblings didn't.

"She's fine, guys," Willis answered with a small reassuring smile. He opened up the notification letter he'd just been sent on his datapad and quickly scanned through it. "She got hurt a couple weeks ago, but she's in stable condition now."

Olivia frowned. "What does 'stable' mean, Daddy?"

"It means your mom's getting better. Come here."

Willis pulled his three kids in for a big hug, one that Jamie joined in on the other side.

"It'll be all right," Hawk said placidly to his family. "We'll get through this."


	27. Chapter 26: Rerouted

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Rerouted**

**1907 Hours, August 6, 2558. Forerunner Shield World Surface, Requiem. "The Search," Epoloch System. Day Eighteen of the War of Tomorrow**

The outskirts of the perimeter had taken days to clean up after the fight. There'd been an official collection of the bodies of the dead, a new OP set up, and a painstaking replacement of mines all along the cratered area that had once been the entrance. Major Harris's engineers – once mine – took on the brunt of the work, patching up some of the outer wall that had seen the worst, as well as reinstalling other defenses here and there. In the meantime Major Delaney kept his 904th Infantry Battalion on watch along with the original contingent, headed by Captain Diaz, while Major Brewer and I determined what to do next.

"This is a tough spot we're in, ma'am," Brewer was saying. "We've got the manpower but as long as we're only using it to rotate the watch and patrols, we're not going to get anywhere."

"I agree," I replied, folding my arms across my chest as I glanced over at the hologram of our nearby sectors inside the command tent. "If we stay here this'll turn into another battle of attrition like the first. Both sides'll just keep grinding each other down until they're spent, but we won't have a firm upper hand to really establish our presence here, like HighCom wants. We need to go on the offensive. Start hitting the Storm and the Prometheans where it hurts so they won't come back."

Lieutenant Lloyd, also part of the impromptu meeting, met my gaze. "Do we have the numbers for that, Colonel? After what happened?"

"Yes. The tricky part is going to be making sure the outpost stays well-manned in our absence. We keep getting hit day after day, so we can't just leave a bare-bones crew watching Xavier." I frowned. "We're going to have to split our forces and take one battalion out."

"Whose, ma'am?" my XO asked.

"Delaney's. I need Harris's boys here to take care of anything that needs to be fixed, and Brewer, I'll need your Marines on defense and you to run the show here while I'm gone."

The redheaded major's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You're going back out, Colonel?"

The twin spots in my upper stomach where the needler rounds had gone in – yet miraculously hadn't exploded – still ached from time to time, but weren't hurting so bad that it was keeping me up at night anymore. I knew it was early for me to get back on the horse, but it had to happen sometime, and I was anxious to get this mission done. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm curious to see what's out there. We still haven't gone through Sector B yet."

Lloyd and Ethan, who'd remained quiet till now, exchanged a glance before my ex spoke up.

"Actually, ma'am, that's not entirely true."

I raised an eyebrow at him, more questioning than Brewer. "Care to enlighten us, Commander?"

"Yes, ma'am. The lieutenant and I have been putting our feelers out this week, trying to get a better lay of the land for the regiment before they get sent further out again."

"Not necessary," I said, shaking my head. "We already know it's all jungle past the desert."

Ethan flashed me a smug grin. "I didn't mean the type of terrain, Colonel. I meant the kind of enemy."

Before I could respond, he walked up closer to the table where the projection was displayed and took it down, replacing it with his own from his datapad. "Here's what Lloyd and I cooked up while you've been busy housekeeping. A survey of what's in that jungle."

"And what did you find?" Brewer asked.

"Prometheans. Lots of them," Caleb answered, looking pensive.

"Exactly," Ethan went on. "We took a look at the pattern of their patrols, how many we saw, and how they were setup. If there were more Crawlers or Knights in a group, for example. And with that, we've come up with the probable location of their base of operations, so to speak."

I had to admit, I was impressed. "Very good work, you two. So what's the verdict?"

"It's a little deep into the jungle, ma'am, but we think it's here," Lloyd supplied, pointing to a pulsating red dot that suddenly appeared on the projection. "We have no way of knowing if it's actually there or not, nor how many Prometheans – or possibly Storm – we could expect to see inside. This is just an educated guess, but it's a hunch we're willing to bet on."

"I'll take it," I said. "A hunch is more than what we had to start with." I looked at both spooks in turn. "I want you two to continue working on this. In the meantime, Major Brewer and I will handle the logistics and planning of the assault. It might not happen right away, but we'll get the ball rolling for now. That's where I'd eventually like us to be. A more offensive force."

"Yes, ma'am," Ethan answered.

I looked at the three of them in turn. "Good. Then you've got your orders. Dismissed."

* * *

After picking up my rifle and helmet from a table inside the command tent, I followed Major Brewer and the spooks outside and geared up, getting ready to go look for Captain Diaz on the lines. The former acting outpost commander, Major Hillary Rosa, had just regained consciousness three days ago. It was good news and boded well for her physical prognosis, but now that she'd had a few days' recovery time, I had to give her the news about their punishment.

Yesterday I'd used the COM console in my quarters to contact another local outpost commander, explaining that I had a recovering major I needed to transfer over for an infraction. With my regiment's arrival we had an abundance of majors on hand already, and I had taken over command of the outpost; Diaz we could still use on the lines and to consult for information on what he'd been experiencing around here before we'd come planetside. Rosa would likely have to remain here for another week or so until she was well enough to be moved, but as soon as that happened, she'd be taking the next Pelican ride out.

I caught the first noncom I encountered on perimeter watch and had him summon Diaz for me. The Marine captain jogged up to my position, looking a little wary, but the lines weren't exactly a good place to talk. Instead I gestured to him and said, "Walk with me, Tanner."

"Yes, ma'am."

Once we'd started moving back in the direction of the quad, Diaz said, "May I ask what this is about, Colonel?"

"I've made a decision about you and Major Rosa now that she's awake. She'll be getting transferred to Outpost Loredo soon, maybe within the week if Doc clears her." I gave him a look, something between rueful and stern. "I'm sorry. But I think you both knew when you started this that this is how it would end."

The captain nodded slowly, like he'd known it was coming and had already come to terms with it as best he could. "Yes, ma'am. We knew. But sometimes…you can't help what you feel."

"If you want to go say your goodbyes, now's the time. You won't be allowed back in to see her after this."

Diaz nodded again and I watched as he swallowed hard. "I understand, Colonel. I'm guessing this whole mess has gone through the official channels by now?"

"I've submitted a report about it, yes. It'll be noted on both your CSVs in a few days."

"Right."

"Tanner…be careful next time. The Corps is very forgiving about battlefield romances done the right way. But never with this."

"I know." He released a sigh. "I'll do better, ma'am. I'm not a bad Marine, even if I showed poor judgment in my personal attachments. I don't want my career to go down the drain because of this."

"It won't, and you're a capable leader. You just got in over your head."

Captain Diaz nodded a third time before meeting my gaze. "Well, I guess I'll be in the medtent then, Colonel. Thank you."

As I watched him walk off I wondered if he'd be okay after today. Although his relationship with Rosa had been wrong, I could tell it had been real – and deeply felt.

A Marine mourning the loss of a love had plenty to be distracted about. But I suppose I'd known when I'd first found out about this story between them that it was never going to end in a pleasant way. At least he could be happy that against the odds, she'd survived.

* * *

Now that the day's tasks were in motion, I spent another moment looking over everything inside the command tent – a real-time hologram of my battalions' positions; an indicator of the current patrol routes; and a constantly updating scroll of numbers denoting unit sizes, coordinates, and logistical information – until I'd seen enough to know things were on track. Before returning out on the lines to gauge how morale was among the Marines, I decided to retreat to my quarters and finally call Willis.

He answered on the fourth ring, obviously from sleep. "Natalie?"

"Hey, Will. Sorry to wake you. This is the first chance I've gotten to check in again and I'm not sure when it'll come back around. How are you guys holding up?"

"Okay," he answered, and I could hear him moving to sit up in bed. "Better now that I'm hearing your voice. We had some uniforms come to the door the other day to tell us you'd been wounded. Got everybody on edge."

I smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I'm more or less in one piece still."

"What happened?"

"We were out on patrol when your brother got the bright idea to rush in the middle of the crossfire to throw a grenade," I said, vividly recalling the incident. My mostly-healed wound responded by throbbing a little more. "He tripped over something on the way back to cover and I knew he might not make it. So I ran over to help him up, and I got two needler rounds jabbed into my side, just beneath my ribcage. Hurt like hell."

"Christ! Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. The rounds must've malfunctioned or something because they didn't explode." _Otherwise my insides would be minced meat, and I'd be very, very dead, _I added to myself. "I got lucky."

"Yes, you did." He sighed on the other end. "Coop, I've told you before, you need to be more careful out there. For us and for you. You should've seen the look on Gabe's face when we got the notification team at the door. Poor kid got rattled like he thought his nightmare was coming true. I can't…we can't take this kind of stuff anymore."

For some reason that irked me. "And what do you think I should've done instead then, Will? Let your brother die?"

"No, but – "

"Willis, I do _everything_ I can to stay alive. Everything. I know you and the kids are home waiting for me. I know you worry. I know you don't want me getting hurt. But I still have a job to do, and I'm not just going to sit by while one of my Marines gets killed if I can do something about it. Even if it's not Matt, which it was."

"I get that," he snapped. "But remember that you can't help your Marines if you're dead. And we need you, too."

I shut my eyes for a minute and massaged my temple, trying to rid myself of the beginnings of a headache. This conversation had gone downhill fast. "I'm not going to argue this with you right now, Will. I've got a million different shitty scenarios we're dealing with out here and I don't – "

"Why haven't you told me about Ethan?"

The question came out of the blue and startled me. "What?"

"I heard he might still be alive. And that he's working out there with you. Is that true?"

"Yes," I responded instantly. "Why?"

"_Why?_ You don't think I'd want to know something like that? I thought he was dead!"

"So did I!" I shouted back, getting angrier now at his persistence. "How do you think I felt when I saw him? Knowing I had to be around the guy for the rest of the mission? Orders are orders and I don't have a choice!"

"I know that. But you should've told me."

"I tried to, the first time we talked! You got a call and had to leave!" I took a deep breath to temper my next words. "Please don't act like I'm purposely trying to keep this from you. There's no need. He may have changed, but it's still Ethan. I don't trust a word he – "

"You've talked to him? After what he did to you? Really?"

It was my turn to sigh. "I tried to pass him off to my XO. I didn't want anything to do with him, believe me. But circumstances…it's just easier if I include him in things. Despite who he is, and who he used to be…I have to say he does his job as a spook right."

My husband snorted at that. "Just don't get caught up in his bullshit again. Whatever he's like now, you know how he is. He puts on appearances and makes it seem like it's all good, and then he strikes." There was a pause. "I don't know what he's been saying to you, but I wouldn't trust that he's all that different now."

I couldn't help the humorless grin that came to my face. "Honey, I know. I dated the guy for over a year before I met you. He can say he's changed all he wants, and to an extent I think he has, but that doesn't erase the past. I'm still wary of his real intentions."

"Good. He doesn't deserve your trust. Or your forgiveness."

"That he'll never have." I glanced down absently at my boots, glad the conversation had smoothed over a little now. "He did save me the other night, though. Our outpost was attacked and with my wound and everything…I wasn't in a good place to help myself. So at least he's earning his keep."

Willis didn't respond to that, so I went on.

"He said some things about Matthew, too. That we should be careful since he used to be a rebel."

"Careful of what?"

"That he could be using us."

Willis sighed again. "I hate to say that crossed my mind, in the beginning. He's my brother, always will be, but he was also gone from home for so long and grew up in a completely different environment all those years…it's hard not to wonder. But he's been nothing but a decent kid, and you know I would never, ever let him near the kids if I didn't think he was solid."

"I know."

There was a moment of silence then before my husband spoke once more.

"Just stay safe, Coop. I miss you, and so do Gabe and the twins. We want our colonel-in-training home again soon."

I smiled for real this time. "Thanks. Me, too."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." I thought of something else then. "How's your therapy going, by the way?"

"I'm finally starting to improve a bit. We'll see how it goes. Jamie just took some leave and has been staying here with us the past couple days, helping with the kids. She says she should be here a few weeks. It's nice to have the company."

"That's great." I checked my watch and knew it was time to get going again, much as I didn't want to. "Say hi to the kids for me in the morning, and tell them I miss them and love them very much."

"Will do, honey."

"All right. I'll try to call again when I can. Bye."

"Bye."

I leaned back in my chair once the connection cut and sat there a moment, taking it all in. Willis was frustrated with my current setting, as was I, but for now neither of us could do anything about it. The best thing for me to do was to keep on task so I could see the people I loved again.


End file.
